Short History of New Jersey Electricity Deregulation:

Before Deregulation: Prior to this change in the law, one of the four local utility companies was responsible for generating electricity and transmitting the power to individual homes and businesses in their service territory. The utilities were also responsible for billing, customer service, and tech repairs to the electric lines and equipment.

After Deregulation: As a result of the new state law, the responsibilities of the utilities were “unbundled” into four divisions: generation, transmission, distribution, and energy services. The generation sector has been deregulated and, as a result, utilities are no longer the sole producers of electricity. The transmission and distribution sectors remain subject to regulation – either by the federal government or the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Finally, competition is allowed between companies to provide power and other energy services directly to customers. Alternative electricity suppliers are entering the market to sell electricity to New Jersey consumers.