Understanding Your PSE&G Bill in New Jersey (2026)

It arrives by mail or email, and the total number stops you cold. The usage looks normal, but the amount due somehow climbed again. Most PSE&G customers scan straight to the bottom line and miss the five or six individual charges stacked above it, each with its own logic and, critically, its own room (or lack of room) for negotiation.

This guide walks through every section of a PSE&G bill in plain language: what each charge is, who sets it, and what you can realistically do about it. If you want to compare live competitive rates for your area, visit the New Jersey rates page at ElectricRates.org.

Before diving into line items, understand the fundamental split. Every New Jersey electric bill is built from two distinct services.

Delivery covers the poles, wires, substations, and metering that physically move electricity to your home. PSE&G owns that infrastructure in its territory, rates are approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), and you have no choice but to pay them.

Supply covers the actual electricity commodity, the electrons themselves. By default, PSE&G procures that power through a state-managed auction process called Basic Generation Service (BGS). As of August 2026, PSE&G's default BGS supply rate is approximately 19.6 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). That is the rate you pay if you do nothing. The lowest competitive supplier rate currently available in New Jersey sits around 13.3 cents/kWh, which means supply is the one side of your bill where shopping pays off.

Open a PSE&G bill and the delivery section typically contains several distinct charges. The labels can shift slightly between billing periods as NJBPU approves tariff updates, but the categories below appear consistently.

Distribution Charge. This is the largest delivery line for most residential customers. It covers local infrastructure: the neighborhood wires, transformers, and the crews that maintain them. It is calculated per kWh consumed plus a fixed monthly customer charge.

Transmission Charge. Electricity travels from power plants to your region over high-voltage lines managed by PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for this part of the country. PSE&G passes PJM's transmission costs through to customers. This charge also varies with usage.

Societal Benefits Charge (SBC). New Jersey funds energy-efficiency programs, low-income assistance (including the Universal Service Fund), and renewable energy development partly through this line. It is a small per-kWh adder set by the NJBPU.

Transition Charges. These relate to legacy costs from utility restructuring in the late 1990s. They appear on some bills and are small.

Market Transition Charge / Non-Utility Generator Charges. More legacy restructuring costs. Again, small, but worth knowing why they exist.

None of these delivery charges can be reduced by switching suppliers. They are what they are until the NJBPU changes the tariff.

The supply section of your bill should show either PSE&G's BGS rate or, if you have enrolled with a third-party supplier, that supplier's contracted rate.

As of August 2026, PSE&G's BGS supply rate is approximately 19.6 cents/kWh. BGS rates are reset annually through a competitive auction overseen by the NJBPU. They reflect wholesale market conditions, capacity costs, and renewable energy credits. In recent years those wholesale costs have stayed elevated, which is why the default rate is higher than many customers expect.

Competitive suppliers, also called Electric Generation Suppliers (EGS) under New Jersey's retail choice framework, can offer fixed or variable rates that may be lower. The lowest competitive rate currently visible in the state is around 13.3 cents/kWh. On a household using 750 kWh per month, moving from 19.6 cents to 13.3 cents on the supply portion would represent a meaningful monthly reduction.

A few cautions. Variable-rate supplier plans can change month to month. Always check the full contract terms, and verify any offer through the NJBPU's licensed supplier list before enrolling. ElectricRates.org's New Jersey page displays current competitive offers so you can compare them against your BGS default.

After delivery and supply, a PSE&G bill typically adds:

New Jersey Sales Tax. Electricity sold to residential customers is generally subject to New Jersey's sales tax at the applicable state rate, though certain exemptions exist.

Public Purpose Program Charge (PPP). This funds low-income weatherization, energy assistance programs, and related services. It is a small fixed or per-kWh fee.

Universal Service Fund (USF) surcharge. The USF helps income-qualified customers pay their electric bills. The surcharge appears as a fractional-cent adder on most bills. If you are low income, you may qualify to receive USF benefits rather than just pay the surcharge. Contact PSE&G or the NJBPU directly to ask about eligibility.

Meter reading and customer service charge. A flat monthly fee covering account maintenance and meter infrastructure. It appears regardless of how much electricity you use.

Customers often notice their rate per kWh looks stable but the total bounces around. Several things drive that.

Seasonal usage. Air conditioning in July and August is the single biggest driver of summer bill spikes in New Jersey. A window unit running eight hours a day can add hundreds of kWh to a monthly total.

BGS rate resets. PSE&G's BGS supply rate is typically reset once a year, usually in June, after the annual auction concludes. The transition can push your supply cost up or, occasionally, down.

Tariff adjustments. The NJBPU periodically approves changes to delivery rates following rate cases or infrastructure investment plans. These show up as changes to the per-kWh delivery charges.

Estimated reads. If PSE&G estimated your meter rather than reading it directly, a true-up in the following month can produce an unexpectedly high or low bill. Check the bill's summary box: it will note whether the read was actual or estimated.

Beyond switching suppliers, several programs are available to New Jersey PSE&G customers.

Universal Service Fund (USF). Income-qualified customers can receive a monthly credit that caps their electric costs as a percentage of household income. Eligibility and benefit amounts are set by the NJBPU and administered through PSE&G. Contact PSE&G's customer assistance line or visit the NJBPU website for current income thresholds.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This federally funded program provides a one-time annual benefit to help low-income households cover energy costs. New Jersey administers LIHEAP through the Department of Community Affairs. Applications typically open in the fall. Benefit amounts are set annually and are not published here because they change.

PSE&G Residential Programs. PSE&G offers weatherization assistance and energy-efficiency financing for income-eligible customers. Details and current eligibility requirements are available directly from PSE&G.

Time-of-Use Rates. Some PSE&G rate schedules allow customers to pay less per kWh during off-peak hours (typically nights and weekends) in exchange for higher rates at peak times. If your household can shift dishwasher or laundry loads to late evening, this can reduce your bill. Ask PSE&G or check your tariff schedule to see if you qualify.

New Jersey has four electric distribution utilities, and their BGS supply rates differ because each utility runs a separate procurement auction.

As of August 2026, the default BGS supply rates are:

PSE&G: ~19.6 cents/kWh
JCP&L: ~15.2 cents/kWh
Atlantic City Electric: ~18.2 cents/kWh
Rockland Electric: ~18.8 cents/kWh

PSE&G customers are currently paying the highest default supply rate in the state. That makes the case for shopping competitive suppliers especially strong in PSE&G territory. The gap between PSE&G's 19.6-cent BGS rate and the lowest available competitive rate of roughly 13.3 cents per kWh is significant over a full year of billing.

Reading your bill is step one. Acting on it is step two.

First, pull out a recent PSE&G bill and locate the supply charge line. Confirm whether you are on the default BGS rate or an existing supplier contract. If you are on BGS at 19.6 cents/kWh, you have clear room to shop.

Second, check your average monthly usage (printed on the bill or visible in your online account). Multiply your usage by the rate difference between your current supply rate and whatever competitive offer you are considering. That math tells you how much you could realistically save per month.

Third, verify any competitive supplier's license through the NJBPU before enrolling. New Jersey law requires all retail suppliers to be licensed with the NJBPU, and the agency maintains a public list.

For current competitive rates across PSE&G and the rest of New Jersey, ElectricRates.org's New Jersey comparison tool pulls live offers so you can see what is actually available at your address today.