New Jersey Electricity Rates 2026: Who Should Switch and Who Should Stay

As of June 2026, the supply portion of a New Jersey electric bill runs between roughly 14.6 and 19.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, and the spread depends entirely on which utility serves your home.

New Jersey is a deregulated electricity state. The four utilities that deliver power do not generate it. They move it across the wires and bill you for that delivery. The electricity itself comes from one of two places: the default rate your utility arranges through a statewide auction, or a third-party supplier you choose yourself.

That split matters because only the supply half is shoppable. The delivery charge stays the same no matter who generates your power. So when people ask whether switching saves money in New Jersey, the real question is narrower: can a supplier beat your utility default on the supply line? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. The numbers below show exactly where.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities oversees the whole market. The NJBPU licenses suppliers, handles complaints, and runs the auction that sets the default supply rate every year.

That default is called Basic Generation Service, or BGS. Every February 1, the price resets based on a statewide auction held the prior winter.^[1] Your utility buys power through that auction and passes the cost straight through. No markup. When you do nothing, BGS is what you pay for supply.

The alternative is a licensed third-party supplier. They sell you the supply portion at their own price, fixed or variable, and your utility still handles delivery, the meter, and any outage. Nothing physical changes on the wire. The only difference is the supply line on your bill and the name attached to it.

Here is where the honest answer lives. Two utilities have suppliers worth switching to. Two do not, at least not in June 2026.

PSE&G carries the highest default and the widest gap, so its customers have the most to gain. JCP&L sits at the opposite end: its BGS rate is the lowest in the state and no supplier currently beats it. Chasing a switch there costs you money. Rockland Electric is a small territory with thin supplier interest, and the one cheapest offer barely matches the default.

A typical New Jersey home uses around 1,000 kilowatt-hours in a busy month. Run each utility default through that number and the supply portion looks like this.

PSE&G: 19.9¢ × 1,000 = about $199 in supply charges. A 17.6¢ supplier drops that to roughly $176, a saving near $23 a month.

Atlantic City Electric: 18.2¢ × 1,000 = about $182. A 16.7¢ supplier brings it to roughly $167, saving about $15.

JCP&L: 14.6¢ × 1,000 = about $146. The cheapest supplier at 16.0¢ would push it to $160, costing you $14 more.

Rockland Electric: 18.8¢ × 1,000 = about $188. The lone competitive offer at 18.9¢ lands a dollar higher.

These figures cover supply only. Delivery rides on top and does not change when you switch. Run your real usage at ElectricRates.org to see your own numbers on live rates.

PSE&G and Atlantic City Electric customers have a clear case for shopping. The default rate sits high enough that a fixed supplier offer beats it with room to spare. An 8 to 11 percent cut on the supply line adds up across a year, and a fixed rate also protects you from the next February reset moving the wrong way.

JCP&L customers should stay on BGS. Plain and simple. The default beats every supplier in the market right now, so switching would raise your bill. Check back after the next auction, because the gap can flip.

Rockland Electric customers fall into a third bucket. The default is competitive, supplier choice is thin, and the cheapest offer does not beat BGS. There is no advantage in switching today. Staying put is the smart move.

A low headline rate is not the whole story. Before you sign with any New Jersey supplier, read three things.

Is the rate fixed or variable? A variable rate can climb after the first billing cycle. Fixed rates hold for the contract term, which is what makes the savings above predictable.

Is there a monthly fee or an early termination fee? A 17.6¢ rate with a $10 monthly fee can cost more than the BGS rate it claims to beat. Divide any fee by your usage to find the true per-kWh price.

What happens at renewal? Some contracts roll into a higher variable rate when the fixed term ends. Set a reminder. The NJBPU licenses every supplier and investigates complaints, so you have recourse, but the cleanest protection is reading the terms before you sign.

Start with your bill. Find the supply charge and the price per kilowatt-hour. That is your BGS benchmark and the number any supplier has to beat.

Next, compare live offers for your specific utility. A 17.6¢ PSE&G offer means nothing to a JCP&L customer, so the comparison has to match your territory. ElectricRates.org pulls current New Jersey rates by utility and does the supply math for you at ElectricRates.org.

If a supplier beats your default after fees, enrolling takes a few minutes. The supplier notifies your utility. You call no one. The switch lands within one or two billing cycles, and the lights never flicker. If nothing beats your default, the right move is to do nothing. Staying on BGS is a legitimate choice, and for JCP&L and Rockland customers right now, it is the better one.