Average Electric Bill in New Jersey (2026)

Picture a family in Toms River opening their July bill after two weeks of ninety-degree weather. The air conditioner ran almost nonstop, and the total landed well above $200. Across the river in a smaller Cape May County apartment, a renter saw $95 for the same month. Both are typical. The average electric bill in New Jersey sits somewhere between $120 and $160 per month for a residential customer, but the real number for any one household depends on square footage, equipment age, billing territory, and, critically, which supply rate is attached to the account.

New Jersey deregulated its electricity market, meaning you can choose your electricity supplier while your local utility handles the wires and delivery. Most customers who have never made an active choice are on Basic Generation Service (BGS), the default supply rate set by each utility under oversight from the NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU). BGS rates vary by utility and are not the cheapest option available in 2026.

As of August 2026, the four regulated utilities serving New Jersey carry these BGS supply rates:

PSE&G (the state's largest utility, covering much of northern and central NJ): approximately 19.6 cents per kWh.

Atlantic City Electric (serving South Jersey): approximately 18.2 cents per kWh.

Rockland Electric (a smaller territory in far northwestern NJ, bordering New York): approximately 18.8 cents per kWh.

JCP&L (Jersey Central Power & Light, covering central and northwestern NJ): approximately 15.2 cents per kWh.

Those supply rates are only part of your bill. Delivery charges, transmission fees, and various utility surcharges stack on top. Still, the supply component is one of the few pieces a residential customer can actually change. Browse live competitive supplier rates for your territory at ElectricRates.org to see how those BGS figures compare to what's available right now.

Supply rates matter, but kilowatt-hour consumption is the multiplier. A PSE&G customer using 750 kWh a month pays meaningfully less than a neighbor using 1,200 kWh, even at the same rate. Summer is the main driver of elevated bills in New Jersey. Central air conditioning alone can add several hundred kilowatt-hours to a monthly total during a heat wave.

Homes heated with electric baseboard or heat-pump systems face a second spike in January and February. Customers in those situations often see their highest bills of the year in winter rather than summer, a pattern that catches renters by surprise when they move from gas-heated buildings.

Other factors that push a New Jersey electric bill higher than average include older refrigerators running continuously, electric water heaters, EV charging without time-of-use scheduling, and homes without adequate attic insulation.

A customer in Morristown (PSE&G territory) and a customer in Freehold (JCP&L territory) live roughly forty miles apart, but their default supply rates differ by more than four cents per kWh. At 1,000 kWh per month that gap is more than $40 every single month, before delivery charges even enter the picture.

Territory is determined by your address, not by any choice you make, so the first thing to know is which of the four utilities, PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric, serves your home. Your bill header will show the utility name. Once you know that, you can compare the BGS rate for your territory against what competitive suppliers are offering in that same footprint.

As of August 2026, the lowest competitive supplier rate available in New Jersey is approximately 13.3 cents per kWh (exact availability varies by territory). That spread versus the BGS rates above, especially PSE&G's 19.6 cents, can translate to meaningful annual savings for higher-usage households. Check current New Jersey electricity rates on ElectricRates.org before signing anything, because supplier offers change frequently.

New Jersey consistently ranks among the higher-cost states for residential electricity. Several structural factors explain that.

First, land costs and infrastructure density in a heavily developed state make transmission and distribution more expensive per customer than in rural states. Those costs flow through to the delivery portion of the bill.

Second, New Jersey's aggressive renewable energy mandates and solar incentive programs are funded partly through charges that appear as line items on residential bills. The programs have long-term benefits, but they add to the near-term monthly total.

Third, demand charges during the region's hot, humid summers push wholesale electricity prices up, and BGS procurement costs reflect that.

Finally, the state has historically set BGS rates through a competitive auction process overseen by the NJBPU, and auction outcomes in recent years have settled at higher levels than many customers expected. The NJBPU publishes results and explanatory materials at its website for customers who want to understand the methodology.

New Jersey offers several assistance and efficiency programs worth knowing about.

Universal Service Fund (USF): A state program that helps income-qualified customers pay their electric and gas bills. Eligibility is income-based. The NJBPU and your utility's customer service line are the right places to apply or ask about thresholds.

LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program): Federal funding administered through New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs. It provides one-time or seasonal assistance for heating and cooling costs. Application windows open seasonally, so check the NJ DCA website for current dates.

NJ Clean Energy Program: Administered through the NJBPU, this program offers rebates on energy-efficient appliances, HVAC systems, and home weatherization. Replacing an aging central air unit or adding attic insulation can reduce consumption enough to matter.

Net Metering for Solar: New Jersey has one of the more active residential solar markets in the country. Customers with rooftop solar can receive credits on their bills for excess generation. The NJBPU oversees net metering rules, which have evolved in recent years.

For any of these programs, confirm current eligibility rules directly with the administering agency, since income thresholds and rebate amounts change.

Because New Jersey operates a deregulated supply market, residential customers can enroll with a licensed third-party electricity supplier rather than stay on BGS. The utility still delivers power and handles outages. You simply pay a different rate for the energy itself.

The NJBPU maintains a list of licensed suppliers. Any supplier operating in New Jersey must be approved by the NJBPU, so checking that list is a reasonable due-diligence step before enrolling.

When comparing offers, look at the supply rate per kWh, whether the rate is fixed or variable, the contract length, and any early-termination fees. Variable-rate contracts can drop below BGS in some months and spike well above it in others. A fixed rate locks in predictability.

The enrollment process is generally handled online or by phone. Your utility territory does not change, your meter does not change, and your relationship with your local utility for service and outages does not change. Only the supply line on your bill reflects the new supplier's rate.

ElectricRates.org lists current offers by New Jersey territory. Comparing before you commit takes a few minutes and avoids the regret of discovering a better rate existed a week after signing a contract.

Cutting consumption works alongside finding a better supply rate. A few approaches that move the needle:

Set your thermostat a few degrees higher during peak afternoon hours in summer. Even modest adjustments can noticeably reduce the kWh total at month's end.

Run dishwashers, washing machines, and EV chargers overnight or early morning. Off-peak hours typically correspond to lower grid stress and, if you're on a time-of-use plan, lower prices.

Replace incandescent bulbs still in service with LEDs. The savings per bulb are small, but across a whole home they add up over a year.

Have your HVAC system serviced before summer peaks. A dirty coil or low refrigerant makes the compressor work harder and pulls more electricity for the same cooling output.

Check your utility's website for free or subsidized home energy audits. Several New Jersey utilities offer them, and auditors often find insulation or sealing issues that are inexpensive to fix but costly to ignore.

The average electric bill in New Jersey reflects some of the highest electricity costs in the continental United States, shaped by dense infrastructure, renewable mandates, and BGS auction results. For a typical household, that means monthly bills that regularly exceed the national average, especially in summer.

The most direct lever most customers have is their supply rate. With the lowest competitive supplier rate in New Jersey sitting around 13.3 cents per kWh as of August 2026, and PSE&G's BGS at 19.6 cents, the gap is wide enough to justify a few minutes of comparison shopping. Add in state assistance programs for those who qualify, and some households can cut their annual electricity cost by a meaningful margin without changing a single appliance.

Start by confirming your utility territory, then check live rates at ElectricRates.org or contact the NJBPU if you have questions about supplier licensing.