New Jersey

California and New Jersey – two states with well-structured organized markets for electiricity – are leading the nation in solar capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Year in Review report released last week. 
 
The solar market grew from $3.6 billion in 2009 to $6.0 billion in 2010, with installations totaling 956 megawatts (MW), achieving a capacity of 2.6 gigawatts. According to SEIA, this represents only the beginning of such growth. In 2011, the organization expects U.S. solar installations to double from 2010 levels.
 

Across the country, residents and businesses are continuing to exercise their ability to choose their electricity provider. Electricity shopping in competitive markets ensures providers are more innovative and efficient in their efforts to attract customers. As a result, consumers have access to the highest quality service at the most competitive prices. 
 

Electricity bills in New Jersey are falling and Lee Solomon, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, credits competition. Solomon cited the state’s tenth annual electricity auction for Basic Generation Service, as well as favorable market conditions, as the primary factors behind lowered costs for residents and businesses.

Illinois state lawmakers protected the state’s electricity consumers this week by rejecting legislation that would have subsidized construction of a $3.5 billion power plant.
 
Had it passed, the Taylorville Energy Center (TEC) subsidy bill would have threatened jobs by dramatically increasing consumer prices. TEC sponsors had proposed subsidizing the plant’s construction by requiring electric distribution companies to buy power from the plant for 30 years at above-market prices. These distribution customers would then have had to pass this additional cost along to their customers.
 

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the state legislature are considering a proposal that will add a new charge to consumer energy bills and threaten thousands of jobs. The implications of this legislation are simple: higher energy bills for consumers and the very real threat of layoffs by companies that will no longer be able to afford operating costs.

Consumers drove the percentage of electricity purchased from competitive suppliers higher in multiple states over the summer and fall, according to recent state data reported inRestructuring Today. This trend mirrors the growth of competitive markets detailed in COMPETE’s recent study of switching rates, which found the volume of electricity sales by competitive suppliers has doubled since 2003.
 

The number of consumers switching to competitive suppliers has continued its trend of upward growth in four states with competitive markets, bringing competitively priced electricity to even more customers. These switching numbers come from recently released state data posted in Restructuring Today, and reiterate that electricity customers switching their power suppliers is a clear sign of the success of competitive markets.
 

A new statewide poll conducted by The Fairleigh Dickinson University shows most New Jersey consumers would switch electricity providers in the state’s competitive market if they could save 10 percent or more on the electricity generation portion of their utility bill. The poll, conducted among nearly 700 residents who participate in household financial decisions, found 64 percent of residents are very likely or somewhat likely to choose a new supplier if the economic benefits were adequate.
 

The upward trend of shopping for alternative energy suppliers continued rising in several states this summer, pushing overall numbers higher and bringing competitively priced electricity to even more customers. The new switching numbers come from recently released state data and were highlighted in Restructuring Today.
 

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer article shows that New Jersey’s competitive market is creating economic benefits for all electricity consumers, as evidenced by the entry of three new major power suppliers into the market resulting in an exponential growth in the number of customers who have switched to power suppliers.
 
While switching among the state’s commercial and industrial (C&I) customers has become common in the state, switching rates among residential customers has skyrocketed in the last year. According to the article, approximately 213 residential customers had switched to discount suppliers in 2009, but that number now stands at more than 16,000 – and the figure has doubled since June.