PSE&G granted increase, ordered to pay refund
New Jersey regulators on Monday approved an electric rate increase for Public Service Electric and Gas Co. - and then wiped out most of the increase for two years by ordering the utility to refund overcharges from 1999 to 2003.
New Jersey regulators on Monday approved an electric rate increase for Public Service Electric and Gas Co. - and then wiped out most of the increase for two years by ordering the utility to refund overcharges from 1999 to 2003.
The Board of Public Utilities granted PSE&G a rate increase of $73.5 million, which would increase the average bill for a residential customer by about $12 a year, or 0.9 percent. But the BPU also ordered the $122 million refund to be paid back over two years, which would reduce the increase to $1 a year. PSE&G is New Jersey's largest utility.
"This represents a great win for ratepayers," said Stefanie A. Brand, director of the Division of Rate Counsel, which had argued for the refund.