Millburn, Short Hills and Livingston households could pay about $171 more per year for electricity under a rate proposal JCP&L filed with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Aug. 7.
The utility is seeking a $253 million increase in base distribution rates and recovery of $476 million in deferred storm costs, according to a FirstEnergy press release. For a typical customer using 767 kilowatt-hours per month and currently paying $162.30, the increase works out to $14.23 per month, or $170.76 per year.
The increase would not hit residential bills immediately. JCP&L plans to use offsets to shield homeowners from base delivery rate changes through 2027, with the full impact landing Jan. 1, 2028. The storm cost recovery charge would also begin in January 2028, spread over 10 years.
Why the hike
JCP&L says increasingly frequent severe storms pushed its deferred storm costs to $476 million before the July 3–6 storms, which are not yet included in the filing. The utility reported it invested $1.5 billion in capital improvements over the past three years and that reliability improved 15% in 2025 and 38% so far in 2026.
"Customers shouldn't have to choose between affordability and reliability," Doug Mokoid, FirstEnergy's president of New Jersey, said in the company's announcement. "Our balanced approach puts both front-and-center simultaneously by minimizing the impact on bills today and giving customers time to plan."
Locally, that infrastructure spending is already visible. On July 31, a four-person crew from Henkels and McCoy Utility Construction Company installed new composite utility poles on Fieldstone Drive in Livingston, part of JCP&L's broader replacement program, the West Essex Tribune reported.
Bills already climbing
The proposed hike arrives in a community already shouldering some of New Jersey's highest household costs. Millburn Township's 2025 average property tax bill was $26,292, according to the township tax collector's office. Livingston's was $18,465, according to state Department of Community Affairs data. Meanwhile, New Jersey's average electric bill rose 16.9% in 2025, the highest increase among all U.S. states, NJ.com reported.
The filing follows a rate-hike freeze ordered by Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Jan. 20, her first day in office. Three Republican state lawmakers have since sent a letter to the BPU calling for it to "immediately and outright reject" the proposal.
Reliability questions loom
Separately, the BPU is holding JCP&L accountable for failing to meet minimum reliability standards in 2022, 2023 and 2024. NJBPU President Ben Hertz-Shargel said in a July 15 statement that the board would "continue to closely scrutinize JCP&L's performance" and "use every tool available to defend utility customers across the state."
The deadline to intervene in that reliability proceeding, Docket No. EO25070453, is Wednesday, Aug. 12. Residents who experienced outages during the July 4 weekend can also submit comments by emailing [email protected] and referencing Docket No. EO26070387.
What residents can do
No public hearing dates for the rate case have been scheduled yet. JCP&L's regulatory page states hearing locations and dates will be posted once they are set. Payment assistance is available at firstenergycorp.com/billassist, and energy efficiency rebates at firstenergycorp.com/save_energy.html.
The BPU must review and approve any rate change before it takes effect.
