2024 Electricity Auction Results in Higher Prices

On Feb 12, 2024

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) last Friday approved the results of the State’s 23rd annual electricity auction for Basic Generation Service (BGS), resulting in higher costs for electricity supplied to most residents and small and/or medium-sized businesses by Atlantic City Electric Company (ACE), Jersey Central Power & Light Company (JCP&L), Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G), and Rockland Electric Company (RECO), collectively, the New Jersey Electric Distribution Companies (EDCs).

“The average bill is based, in part, upon the results from the last three BGS auctions. As a result, in 2024, BGS ratepayers will experience a moderate increase in energy costs,” said Christine Guhl-Sadovy, president of the NJBPU. “Our primary goal remains to do what is in the best interest of ratepayers across New Jersey.”

The BGS auction determines, in part, the cost of electricity for most New Jersey residents and many businesses for a 12-month period starting June 1, 2024. Winning prices for all four EDCs increased compared to last year’s auction mainly due to higher energy costs and the risk of providing a fixed-price product.

The average monthly BGS residential ratepayer bill is expected to increase for most customers. The average monthly bill will increase anywhere from 3.6% to 8.6%. Specifically, ratepayers supplied by PSE&G will see an average estimated bill increase of 6.2%, ratepayers supplied by JCP&L will see an average estimated bill increase of 8.6%, ratepayers supplied by ACE will see an average estimated bill increase of 4.8%, and ratepayers supplied by RECO will see average estimated bill increase of 3.6%.

The following table illustrates how the auction results will affect electricity supply costs for the average residential customer when the new rates take effect on June 1, 2024:

Monthly Impact of BGS Auction on Average Residential Accounts

EDC	Usage (kWh)	Current Bill	Increase or Decrease	New Bill	Percent Change
ACE	650	$154.28	$7.34	$161.62	4.8%
JCP&L	650	$96.59	$8.34	$104.93	8.6%
PSE&G	650	$131.90	$8.22	$140.12	6.2%
RECO	650	$131.90	$4.71	$135.57	3.6%

The Board’s approval of the BGS results covers two separate descending clock auctions conducted by NERA Economic Consulting beginning February 2 and ending February 6. The auction for Commercial and Industrial Energy Price (CIEP) service for large commercial and industrial customers was conducted on February 2, and the auction for RSCP service for residential and small- to medium-sized commercial customers was conducted on February 5and February 6. Both auctions secured commitments for approximately 8,131 megawatts (MWs) of customer requirements.

The energy secured in the RSCP auction will meet one-third of the state’s residential and small business electric load requirements for the next three energy years, starting June 1, 2024. The remaining two-thirds of customer supply requirements for the 12-month time period beginning June 1, 2024 will be met by electric supply secured in the BGS Auctions held in 2022 and 2023. The supply acquired through the CIEP auction is for one year. The state’s four regulated EDCs do not earn a profit on the cost of the electric supply secured in the auctions. These costs are passed through directly to ratepayers.

For CIEP ratepayers, when compared to last year, the prices for all EDCs are higher. The CIEP price is primarily driven by the cost of electric generating capacity from PJM’s Reliability Pricing Model (RPM) Auction and the cost of meeting the State Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The CIEP price constitutes only a small portion of monthly bills of CIEP customers for the period from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025.

The CIEP product is a full requirements product. The energy portion of the product is priced at the spot price of energy. The price in the auction is meant to cover the costs of capacity and meeting the State RPS. As of December 2023, approximately 82% of the CIEP load is being provided through individual contracts with third-party suppliers. These contracts are negotiated in the competitive marketplace and are not affected by the CIEP auction results.

BGS-RSCP 36-Month Tranches:

EDC	Closing Price (cents/Kwh)	Total Tranches
ACE	8.142	7
JCP&L	8.295	20
PSE&G	8.088	29
RECO	8.555	1

BGS-CIEP 1-year Tranches:

EDC	Closing Price $/Mw-day	Total Tranches
ACE	370.86	4
JCP&L	357.14	12
PSE&G	378.21	21
RECO	300.84	1

The winning bidders of the Residential and Small Commercial Pricing (RSCP) Auction are:

• Axpo U.S. LLC
• BP Energy Company
• Calpine Energy Services, L.P.
• ConocoPhillips Company
• Constellation Energy Generation, LLC
• DTE Energy Trading, Inc.
• DXT Commodities North America Inc.
• Five Elements Energy II LLC
• Hartree Partners, LP
• Macquarie Energy LLC
• NextEra Energy Marketing, LLC
• Shell Energy North America (US), L.P.
• Vitol Inc.

The BGS-CIEP Auction winners are:

• Boston Energy Trading and Marketing LLC
• ConocoPhillips Company
• Constellation Energy Generation LLC
• DTE Energy Trading Inc.
• NextEra Energy Marketing LLC

Related Articles: