Camden Electric Company: Rates & Suppliers Guide

A family moving into a rowhouse on Kaighn Avenue or a business opening on Broadway in Camden does not get to pick its utility. The wires, poles, and meters in Camden belong to Atlantic City Electric (ACE), a subsidiary of Exelon. ACE is the sole regulated electric distribution company for most of South Jersey, including Camden and surrounding Camden County municipalities.

ACE handles delivery: it maintains the infrastructure, reads your meter, restores power after outages, and sends the bill. What ACE does not have to handle exclusively is the electricity supply itself, because New Jersey deregulated its retail electricity market. That distinction matters because it opens a door to potential savings, though, as you will see, the math has to be checked carefully before you act.

An ACE bill in Camden has two main cost buckets. The first is supply, sometimes labeled "generation" or "Basic Generation Service (BGS)." This covers the electricity commodity itself. The second is delivery, which covers the poles, wires, and grid infrastructure ACE owns. Only the supply portion is open to competition.

The Basic Generation Service (BGS) is the default supply rate that ACE charges customers who have not chosen a competitive supplier. The NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) oversees the BGS procurement process, which uses competitive auctions to set the rate ACE passes through to customers. BGS is not a profit center for ACE; it is essentially a pass-through of wholesale auction results.

As of June 2026, ACE's BGS supply rate is approximately 18.2 cents per kWh. That number represents only the supply portion of your bill. Delivery charges, taxes, and other fees are added on top regardless of which supplier you use.

Comparing Camden's current rates to the rest of New Jersey puts things in perspective. As of June 2026:

Atlantic City Electric BGS (Camden area): ~18.2 cents/kWh supply
Lowest competitive supplier available to ACE customers: ~16.7 cents/kWh
Potential supply savings: roughly 8 percent

For context, PSE&G customers in North Jersey face a BGS of about 19.9 cents per kWh, making the gap between default and competitive supply even more pronounced there. JCP&L customers in Central Jersey, on the other hand, see a BGS around 14.6 cents, which actually beats the lowest competitive offers available, so switching would cost them money. Rockland Electric, serving a small corner of Bergen County, shows a similarly thin margin.

Camden sits in a middle zone: ACE's BGS is high enough that competitive suppliers can undercut it meaningfully, but the gap is not enormous. An 8 percent savings on supply sounds modest, but supply typically represents a significant share of your total bill, so the dollar impact over a year of average usage can be real. Check live New Jersey electricity rates on ElectricRates.org before making any decision, because rates from competitive suppliers change frequently.

New Jersey's retail electric market has been open to competition since the early 2000s under rules set by the NJBPU. Residential and commercial customers served by ACE can choose a licensed third-party supplier, called an Electric Generation Supplier (EGS), to provide the commodity portion of their electricity. ACE continues to deliver that electricity over its lines regardless of who supplies it.

The practical steps are straightforward. A customer compares offers from licensed suppliers, signs an agreement, and notifies ACE (usually the supplier handles this automatically). The next bill reflects the supplier's rate on the supply line instead of the BGS. If the contract ends or the customer cancels, supply reverts to BGS automatically. There is no interruption in power.

One caution worth repeating: the NJBPU requires suppliers to be licensed, but it does not guarantee their rates will save you money. Variable-rate contracts in particular can start below BGS and climb above it within months. Fixed-rate contracts provide certainty but lock you in. Reading the contract length, cancellation fee, and rate type before signing protects against unpleasant surprises.

The NJBPU maintains a supplier directory that lists all entities licensed to serve New Jersey customers. That list is a useful starting point for verifying a supplier's credentials, though it does not show real-time pricing. For current rate comparisons across suppliers serving Camden and the ACE territory, ElectricRates.org's New Jersey page aggregates live offers and lets you filter by contract type, term length, and green energy content.

When evaluating an offer, look at three things together: the supply rate (in cents per kWh), the contract length, and the early termination fee. A rate that beats BGS by 1.5 cents today might not be worth a $150 cancellation fee if you plan to move in six months. Conversely, a 12-month fixed rate at 16.7 cents delivers predictable bills through a full seasonal cycle, which many households value for budgeting.

Green energy options are also available in the ACE territory. Some suppliers offer products backed by renewable energy certificates (RECs) sourced from wind or solar. These products sometimes carry a slight premium over the cheapest supply offers, though that gap has narrowed as renewable generation capacity has grown in the mid-Atlantic region.

Camden has one of the higher poverty rates in New Jersey, and several programs exist specifically to lower electric costs for income-qualifying households. None of these programs require switching suppliers; they apply to your ACE bill regardless of your supply choice.

Universal Service Fund (USF): New Jersey's USF program caps electric and gas bills as a percentage of household income for eligible low-income customers. The NJBPU administers USF, and enrollment is handled through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Income limits and benefit amounts are set by the state; check with the DCA or the NJBPU directly for current thresholds.

LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program): Federally funded, LIHEAP provides one-time seasonal bill credits. Applications open in the fall for the heating season. The NJ Department of Community Affairs administers the program locally. Income guidelines and benefit levels are updated annually.

ACE's Lifeline Credit and Payment Assistance: ACE offers budget billing to smooth out seasonal bill spikes, and qualifying customers may be eligible for Lifeline credits through the state. Contact ACE directly or visit the NJBPU's website for current program details.

These programs are not advertised aggressively, so Camden residents should proactively ask about eligibility rather than waiting to be enrolled automatically.

New Jersey has one of the stronger solar incentive structures in the country, and Camden residents can participate. ACE customers who install rooftop solar interconnect under New Jersey's net metering rules, which the NJBPU oversees. Excess generation is credited to your bill at a rate tied to the avoided cost of supply.

Camden also benefits from community solar programs, which allow renters and customers without suitable roof space to subscribe to a share of an off-site solar project and receive credits on their ACE bill. The NJBPU's Community Solar Energy Program governs how those credits are applied.

The economics of solar depend on your usage, roof orientation, shading, and upfront or financing costs. The supply rate you pay matters too: a higher BGS makes the offset value of solar generation larger. At ACE's current BGS of roughly 18.2 cents, each kilowatt-hour your panels produce and offset is worth more than it would be in a lower-rate territory like JCP&L.

For current solar incentive figures and community solar project availability in Camden County, the NJBPU's Clean Energy Program website is the authoritative source.

Rate shopping is one lever; efficiency is another. A few actions that consistently reduce consumption in New Jersey's climate:

Upgrade to LED lighting. Older Camden housing stock often still has incandescent or CFL fixtures. LEDs use roughly 75 percent less energy for the same light output.

Seal air leaks. Air conditioning in South Jersey summers is a major driver of high summer bills. Weatherstripping around doors and windows keeps conditioned air inside.

Upgrade appliances strategically. When a central AC unit or refrigerator reaches end of life, replacing it with an ENERGY STAR model can reduce that appliance's share of your bill noticeably. New Jersey's Clean Energy Program occasionally offers rebates on qualifying appliances; check the NJ Clean Energy website for current offers.

Use time-of-use awareness. ACE offers optional rate structures that reward usage shifted to off-peak hours. Running the dishwasher or laundry at night instead of peak afternoon hours can reduce costs under those plans.

Monitor your usage. ACE's online portal shows daily and hourly consumption data. Spotting an unexpected spike often reveals a malfunctioning appliance or a door left open, small things that quietly inflate bills over months.

Camden residents served by Atlantic City Electric have a real, if moderate, opportunity to reduce supply costs by comparing competitive offers against the BGS of roughly 18.2 cents per kWh (as of June 2026). The 8 percent potential savings on supply is meaningful over a full year, but only if the contract terms are sound and the rate stays competitive.

The right sequence: pull your last three ACE bills to understand your average monthly kWh usage, then compare live supplier offers for the ACE territory at ElectricRates.org. Cross-check any supplier against the NJBPU's licensed supplier list. If you qualify for USF or LIHEAP, apply through the NJ Department of Community Affairs before or alongside any supplier switch, since those credits stack with your supply choice.

For ongoing rate tracking, program updates, and side-by-side comparisons across all New Jersey utilities, bookmark the ElectricRates.org New Jersey hub.