Energy affordability is on the ballot this year. Unfortunately, extremists in Trenton are once again pushing a bill in the New Jersey State House that will hurt consumers wallets with no tangible benefit—except to line their own pockets. New Jerseyans must see through the smokescreen and realize this burdensome and disruptive legislative policy will chase companies out of the state and cost New Jersey families high-paying jobs, tax revenues and an affordable and reliable energy supply.
Fringe anti-energy activists are pushing this misguided policy are trying to mislead the public by changing the title of the bill. The Climate Revolution Action Network and Working Families Party opted to ditch the bill’s prior name, “Climate Superfund Act”, in favor of a more catchy and polarizing term. By branding S2338 the “Polluter Pays to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act,” the bill’s proponents are hoping you pay more attention to words than billions of dollars in costs.
The policies in S2338 would impose up to $5.5 billion in penalties annually on energy companies. That is $600 dollars out of the pockets of every man, woman and child in the Garden State. Hardly affordable and antithetical to Governor Sherrill’s campaign promise of reigning in rising energy costs.
The threat of billions in additional costs to families and businesses has created unlikely partners who have decided jobs, economic development, energy affordability and reliability are all causes worth fighting for together.
Unions and refineries are joining forces in opposition to this legislation that would be detrimental to your great state. The unions are fighting to save good-paying local jobs while the refineries and other businesses are openly questioning whether they can afford to operate in New Jersey under these misguided new regulations that would eliminate tens of thousands of jobs and potentially disrupt the region’s economic stability.
This is a massive energy tax masqueraded as public policy and New Jersey’s residents are too seasoned to fall for this perilous propaganda.
This misguided legislation is a tax on companies who provide the products you use every day—gasoline, diesel and natural gas. Natural gas and fuel oil heat 80% of homes in New Jersey; gasoline and diesel power over 90% of the vehicles; and natural gas fuels nearly half of the state’s power plants. The impact to power generators in the state will be significant and couldn’t come at a worse time., Costs have already increased significantly due to the lack of power generation available in the PJM Interconnection. According to a PJM State of the Market Report (Nov. 2025), retail electricity prices for New Jersey residential customers increased by 22% between 2019-2024.
A study released last month by the left-leaning Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) unsurprisingly found that New Jersey’s overly ambitious climate goals are on a collision course with the “realities of grid reliability, supply chain constraints, and – most importantly – ratepayer affordability and political sustainability.” PPI calls for radical pragmatism, this legislation seems to be the exact opposite.
Hardworking New Jerseyans and their families deserve sound, reasonable policies to help make energy more reliable, affordable and accessible.
Elected leaders and policymakers can’t have it both ways. They can’t tell the citizens of the state that they are going to reduce your energy costs, then tax the very products that provide your energy. Passing S.2338 would be a slap in the face to every voter who cast a ballot for energy affordability.