New Jersey’s Clean Energy Fund (CEF) pays for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy infrastructure, both of which are sorely needed. According to a New Jersey Policy Perspective report, 95% of the energy consumed in New Jersey comes from nonrenewable sources, and 89% of the energy produced in New Jersey is nonrenewable.
Funds for the CEF come from a surcharge on energy consumers’ bills—an estimated $380 million in 2021 alone, NJPP said. Unfortunately, successive administrations have made a practice of raiding the fund for nonclean energy activities. A total of $1.98 billion has been diverted in this way since 2010.
Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is no stranger to doing this. He has taken $533 million out of the CEF cookie jar. Given the urgency of the need to address climate peril, the CEF should be regarded as sacrosanct—too precious to be meddled with.
Labor, environmental, business, and health advocacy groups have repeatedly asked Murphy to end the practice of raiding the CEF. They underscored the message with a rally at the State House in January.
“The state’s reliance on fossil fuels threatens the health and safety of everyone, especially people of color who disproportionately live closest to sources of pollution,” said Alex Ambrose, NJPP policy analyst and report author.
The NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club has called upon Murphy to make good on his gubernatorial promise to stop raiding the CEF.
“We demand the fund gets used for its intended purpose—clean energy—and for our government to use the ratepayer’s money responsibly.” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Resource
NJPP Report: bit.ly/3RYhWed