Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-2) recently responded to findings from a federal audit of Atlantic City Electric (ACE) that found the company overbilled customers and made errors related to federal tax law, and once again called for the resignation of the entire NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU).
“For years, we have been saying something was wrong with what people in South Jersey were paying for electricity,” said Congressman Van Drew. “We were told that we were crazy and that there was nothing to see here. We held public hearings on the issue, we pushed ACE for answers, we challenged the explanations we were being given, and when the numbers still did not add up, I asked FERC to step in and audit the company. Now the result of this audit shows exactly why we were right to demand answers. This must be made right. The people who paid more than they should have deserve refunds now. And this audit must lead to real rate decreases, so families are not continuing to pay some of the highest electric costs in the country. NJBPU spent years approving increase after increase instead of looking into this. Once again, I am calling for their resignation.
“We fought for this audit because we knew something was wrong. Now the truth is out, and ACE must answer for it.”
Previously, the congressman sent separate letters to ACE and NJBPU that identified five areas of financial noncompliance at ACE in which he also demanded a full accounting from ACE and refunds for any ratepayers who were overcharged.
“The audit found overbilling at the transmission level, and those costs do not just disappear. Let’s be clear: these costs are part of the system people are paying for every month, and that burden is passed directly onto the ratepayer. If South Jersey families paid even one dollar more because of these failures, they deserve that dollar back.
“The NJBPU does not get to escape responsibility here either. This Board approved rate increase after rate increase while people were getting crushed by their electric bills. Meanwhile, the company they were supposed to be watching had years of financial compliance problems. The NJBPU is supposed to protect the public from this kind of thing. Instead, people kept paying more, ACE kept making money, and it took a federal audit to uncover problems that should have been caught in New Jersey.”
