What Rate Actually Bills Your NJ Electric Bill

A Newark homeowner gets a mailer: switch suppliers, lock in 16 cents per kilowatt-hour, save money. She switches. The next bill looks almost identical to the one before. What happened?

The supply rate on an offer is real, but it is only one piece of a New Jersey electric bill. Delivery charges, fixed customer fees, taxes, and various riders are set by the utility and the NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) regardless of which supplier you choose. A competitive supplier can only change the supply portion of your bill. Whether that matters depends entirely on which utility serves your address and what that utility's default supply rate is right now.

In New Jersey, the default supply rate is called Basic Generation Service (BGS). Every customer who has not chosen a third-party supplier is automatically on BGS. The rate is set through a competitive auction process overseen by the NJBPU, and it resets periodically, which means it can be higher or lower than competitive offers depending on when you look.

Before comparing any numbers, it helps to understand the two sides of every NJ electric bill.

Supply charges cover the cost of the electricity itself, the electrons generated at a power plant. This is the piece a competitive supplier can replace. It shows up as a cents-per-kWh charge multiplied by your monthly usage.

Delivery charges cover the poles, wires, substations, and meter that get power to your door. These are set by your utility (PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric) and approved by the NJBPU. No supplier can change them.

There are also fixed monthly customer charges, distribution riders, societal benefit charges, and state and local taxes. All of those stay the same no matter who supplies your power.

The practical result: switching suppliers affects maybe 40 to 55 percent of a typical bill, depending on your utility and usage. A supplier advertising a rate that is one cent below BGS does not cut your total bill by one cent per kWh. It cuts only the supply portion by that margin. The real-world savings are smaller than the headline rate difference suggests.

For a full breakdown of live rates and delivery charges by utility, see the New Jersey electricity rates page at ElectricRates.org.

As of June 2026, PSE&G's BGS rate sits at roughly 19.9 cents per kWh. That is among the highest default supply rates in the state. The lowest competitive supplier rate available to PSE&G customers comes in around 17.6 cents per kWh, a difference of about 2.3 cents per kWh.

On supply alone, that translates to roughly an 11 percent savings on the supply portion of the bill. For a household using 700 kWh per month, the supply savings work out to about 16 dollars per month before any other charges. Not transformative, but real and consistent if you stay on a fixed-rate plan.

The key word is fixed. Variable-rate supplier offers can start below BGS and drift above it within a few billing cycles. PSE&G customers who shop should look for fixed-rate contracts and compare the term length against when the BGS rate is next scheduled to reset. The NJBPU publishes BGS auction results on its website, which gives shoppers a sense of the direction BGS may move.

PSE&G is the largest utility in New Jersey, serving much of northern and central NJ including Newark, Jersey City, and Trenton. If you are a PSE&G customer, shopping suppliers is currently worth the effort.

Atlantic City Electric (ACE) serves southern New Jersey, including Atlantic City, Cherry Hill, and parts of Cumberland and Cape May counties. As of June 2026, the ACE BGS rate is approximately 18.2 cents per kWh. The lowest competitive supplier rate available in ACE territory is around 16.7 cents per kWh.

That gap, about 1.5 cents per kWh, represents roughly an 8 percent savings on the supply portion of the bill. For a 700 kWh monthly household, the monthly supply savings would be around 10 to 11 dollars.

Smaller than the PSE&G opportunity, but still meaningful if you can lock in a fixed rate and avoid variable pricing. ACE customers should verify any supplier offer carefully: introductory rates that look attractive on paper can flip to rates above BGS after the first month or two if the contract is variable-rate.

Not every New Jersey utility creates a shopping opportunity. Two of the four do not, at least as of June 2026.

JCP&L (Jersey Central Power and Light) serves central and western NJ including Morristown, Toms River, and Freehold. The JCP&L BGS rate is approximately 14.6 cents per kWh. The lowest competitive supplier rate in JCP&L territory is around 16.0 cents per kWh. That means suppliers are currently charging more than the default rate. JCP&L customers on BGS are already getting the cheapest supply available. Switching would cost money, not save it.

Rockland Electric serves a small area of northern New Jersey near the New York border. The BGS rate there is roughly 18.8 cents per kWh, but the lowest available supplier offer comes in at approximately 18.9 cents per kWh, essentially the same. Very few suppliers even operate in Rockland territory. There is no practical savings opportunity for Rockland customers at this time.

The lesson: BGS is not automatically a bad deal. It is a competitively auctioned rate, and in some service territories it beats what third-party suppliers offer. Always compare the current BGS rate in your specific territory before assuming a supplier will save you money.

Check live comparisons for all four NJ utilities at ElectricRates.org's New Jersey page.

Suppliers in New Jersey offer two basic contract structures: fixed-rate and variable-rate.

A fixed-rate contract locks in the supply rate for a set term, typically six months to two years. You know exactly what the supply portion of your bill will be per kWh for the duration. If BGS resets upward during your term, you benefit. If market prices drop, you might be paying slightly more than BGS for a period.

A variable-rate contract adjusts monthly based on market conditions. These contracts sometimes open with attractive introductory rates below BGS. But they carry no guarantee. In high-demand months, like a brutal January or a record-breaking August, variable rates can spike well above BGS, erasing months of prior savings in a single bill.

New Jersey law, enforced by the NJBPU, requires suppliers to disclose the rate type, contract length, and any cancellation fees in writing before enrollment. Read those disclosures. If a supplier cannot tell you exactly what your supply rate will be in month two, that is a variable-rate product.

For income-qualified New Jersey households, the math on shopping suppliers changes significantly because state assistance programs work through utility accounts, not through third-party suppliers.

The Universal Service Fund (USF), administered through the NJBPU, provides bill credits to eligible low-income customers. Enrollment happens through your utility, and the benefit applies regardless of which supplier you use. However, switching to a supplier with a higher effective rate could reduce or offset the value of those credits.

LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) provides federal heating and, in some cases, cooling assistance. Benefits go directly to your utility account.

Customers who receive USF or LIHEAP benefits should be especially careful before switching suppliers. A variable-rate contract that spikes in winter could make those benefits insufficient to cover the difference. Contact your utility's customer assistance department or visit the NJBPU website to understand how assistance programs interact with supplier enrollment before making any changes.

Getting an apples-to-apples comparison in New Jersey requires a few specific steps.

First, find your current BGS rate. It appears on your utility bill as the supply or generation charge, expressed in cents per kWh. You can also find it on your utility's website or through the NJBPU.

Second, gather your last 12 months of usage. Seasonal variation matters. A rate that saves money in spring might still cost more in August if the contract is variable.

Third, when comparing supplier offers, confirm the rate is fixed, the term length, whether there is a cancellation fee if you leave early, and whether the rate includes all supply-related charges or whether additional fees appear on the bill.

Fourth, calculate savings only on the supply portion of your bill, not the total bill. Delivery charges are not going anywhere.

Finally, set a calendar reminder for contract expiration. Many supplier contracts auto-renew at higher variable rates after the initial fixed term ends. That is one of the most common ways New Jersey customers end up paying more than BGS after an initially successful switch.

As of June 2026, here is where things stand for New Jersey electricity customers:

PSE&G customers have a real, meaningful opportunity to save on supply by switching to a competitive supplier. The BGS rate is high enough that the gap is worth pursuing, especially on a fixed-rate contract.

Atlantic City Electric customers can find modest savings, around 8 percent on supply. Worth considering, but scrutinize the contract terms.

JCP&L customers should stay on BGS. Supplier rates are currently higher than the default, and switching would increase costs.

Rockland Electric customers have effectively no savings available and very limited supplier options. Stay on BGS.

Rates change. BGS resets. Suppliers enter and exit the market. The comparison that holds today may look different in six months. For current, updated rates across all four New Jersey utilities, visit ElectricRates.org and run the numbers against your own bill before making any decisions.