What's Actually on Your New Jersey Electric Bill (2026)
PSEG. JCP&L. Atlantic City Electric. Rockland Electric. Different logos, same bill structure. Here's what each charge means and which part of it you can actually shop.
Why is my bill so high when the rate is only 23.4¢/kWh?
Because the per-kWh rate is only one of six charges stacked on a typical New Jersey bill. Supply, delivery, transmission, a fixed customer charge (averaging $5.37/month across 4New Jersey utilities), riders, and taxes all sit on top of each other. Roughly half of the total is the supply rate you can shop. The other half — delivery and fixed charges — stays the same whether you switch or not. Below: each line, what it costs, and which ones you can actually move.
A typical New Jersey bill, line by line
For a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month — the U.S. average — here's what each line on the bill actually costs.
Sample residential bill — New Jersey, 1,000 kWh
Statewide averages — your actual bill varies by utility and supplier.
| BGS supply (1000 kWh × 12.0¢) | $120.00 |
| Distribution (1000 kWh × 6.0¢) | $60.00 |
| Transmission (1000 kWh × 1.5¢) | $15.00 |
| Customer charge (~$5.37) | $5.37 |
| SBC & riders | $15.00 |
| NJ sales tax (6.625%) | $14.00 |
| Total monthly bill | $229.37 |
Statewide average customer charge across 4 New Jersey utilities: $5.37/mo. Average default residential energy rate: 23.4¢/kWh. Source: NREL URDB.
What every line means
Utilities use slightly different labels on their printed bills, but every New Jersey electric bill includes some version of each of these charges:
BGS / supply charge
Either Basic Generation Service (the default rate, reset each February by statewide auction) or a competing third-party supplier's rate. Shoppable in New Jersey's competitive market.
Distribution charge
Per-kWh charge from PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric for delivering electricity to your home.
Transmission charge
Cost of moving power across PJM's high-voltage system, allocated through your EDC.
Customer charge
Fixed monthly charge — the lowest spread in our footprint, from $4.27 (JCP&L) to $6.75 (Atlantic City Electric).
Societal Benefits Charge & riders
NJBPU-approved line items: the Societal Benefits Charge funds clean energy, universal service, and lifeline programs; ZEC charges support nuclear generation.
Sales tax
New Jersey Sales and Use Tax applies to residential electricity.
The big idea: New Jersey has had retail choice since the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act of 1999. You can shop the supply portion through any NJBPU-licensed supplier. Your EDC — PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric — cannot be changed; it's tied to your service address.
What you can change vs. what you can't
Every line on a New Jersey electric bill falls into one of two buckets. Knowing the difference is the entire point of bill literacy.
You CAN change
- Your supply / generation rate (shop a competing supplier)
- Your usage — through efficiency, behavioral change, weatherization
- When you use electricity (if you're on TOU)
- Whether you're on the right plan structure for your household
You CAN'T change
- Your utility (it's set by your address)
- The distribution and transmission charges
- The fixed monthly customer charge
- Regulatory riders, taxes, and surcharges
The shoppable portion is roughly half your bill. A 20% improvement on the shoppable half = 10% off your total bill. That's the realistic ceiling of what switching suppliers can save you — anyone advertising "save 50% on your electric bill" is either confused or selling you something.
Why your bill went up
If your New Jersey electric bill jumped recently, the cause is almost always one of these four. Walk through them in order:
1. Your usage went up
Cold snap, heatwave, a new appliance, a houseguest, a new EV. Look at the kWh number on this bill versus last month and the same month last year. If kWh is higher, the cost was always going to be higher — supplier switching won't fix it.
2. Your supply rate reset
Your fixed-rate contract expired and you rolled to a month-to-month rate — typically 30-50% higher. Or your utility updated its default Basic Service rate (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania utilities reset their default rate every 6-12 months). This is the most fixable cause.
3. The utility raised distribution or fixed charges
Approved by the NJBPU in a base rate case. These changes are announced months in advance and affect every customer of that utility equally. Shopping suppliers won't avoid them.
4. A new rider was added
New energy efficiency surcharge, storm response cost recovery, or transmission upgrade rider. Usually a few percent of your bill at most. Itemized on the bill.
Our Bill Grade tool reads your bill and tells you which of these four caused your increase — and which (if any) you can fix this month.
New Jersey utilities at a glance
Customer charge and default residential energy rate for each New Jersey utility. Click through to see live supplier rates available in that territory.
| Utility | Customer charge | Default rate | Tariff source |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSE&G (Public Service Electric & Gas) | $6.00/mo | 23.4¢/kWh | Tariff PDF |
| Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) | $4.27/mo | 23.4¢/kWh | Tariff PDF |
| Atlantic City Electric | $6.75/mo | 23.4¢/kWh | Tariff PDF |
| Rockland Electric (RECO) | $4.44/mo | 23.4¢/kWh | Tariff PDF |
Want to know if your bill is high?
Upload your most recent New Jersey electric bill or type in a few numbers and we'll grade it against rates available in your area today. Free, no signup.
Frequently asked questions
What are all the charges on my New Jersey electric bill?
A New Jersey residential electric bill from PSEG, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric splits into five buckets. Supply is the per-kWh price of the electrons themselves — either the Electric Distribution Company's Basic Generation Service rate (set each June 1 by the NJBPU auction) or your chosen Third-Party Supplier rate. Delivery covers the EDC's wires, transformers, and substations getting power to your meter. A fixed customer charge funds metering and billing whether you used a kilowatt-hour or not. Societal Benefits Charge (SBC) funds energy-efficiency programs, low-income assistance, and renewable energy. State sales tax sits on top.
What is the difference between supply and delivery charges on a NJ bill?
Supply pays for the electricity itself. Delivery pays to move it to your meter. In New Jersey, supply is competitive under the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act of 1999 — you can stay on your EDC's Basic Generation Service rate or sign with any Third-Party Supplier licensed by the NJ Board of Public Utilities. Delivery is regulated monopoly. PSEG, JCP&L, ACE, and Rockland own the wires in their territory, and their delivery charges are set by NJBPU and identical for every residential customer on the same rate class. Switching suppliers changes only the supply line.
Why does my NJ electric bill jump in summer?
Two reasons. First, the BGS-RSCP rate resets each June 1 through the NJBPU auction, so the per-kWh supply rate can step up at the start of summer and the increase lands on July and August bills. Second, summer is when air conditioning runs hardest. A 3-ton central AC pulls roughly 3,000 watts. In southern NJ — Atlantic City Electric territory — typical summer usage can hit 1,100+ kWh, well above the 700-800 kWh winter baseline. That combination of a higher rate and higher usage compounds. The fixed customer charge and most riders stay flat year-round.
How can I reduce the parts of my NJ bill I can control?
You can shop supply. NJ Energy Choice at nj.gov/bpu/commercial/energychoice/ lists every NJBPU-licensed Third-Party Supplier. Locking a fixed TPS rate below your EDC's current Basic Generation Service rate trims every future kWh charge on the supply line. New Jersey EDCs also offer time-of-use tariffs if you can shift laundry, dishwashers, and EV charging off the weekday peak. Delivery charges, the customer charge, and the Societal Benefits Charge are set by NJBPU order and the same for every customer in your rate class — those parts of the bill are not shoppable.