NJ Utilities Support Climate Policies

NEW JERSEY — The threat of climate change is growing, and while most US power companies resist climate policy, this is not the case in New Jersey. While half of the biggest utilities in the country push against climate policy, NJ's own Public Service Energy Group (PSEG) is one of the top supporters of climate policy, according to a report done by InfluenceMap, a climate think tank.

PSEG ranks third out of the 25 largest publicly listed utilities in terms of supporting climate policy in InfluenceMap's report. The organization score is 77 percent and the engagement intensity is 55 percent, which according to InfluenceMap means that NJ could have an advantage in passing climate policy.

"To rapidly make progress on cutting carbon, we must clean up the power sector. But too many utilities are still delaying acting," Leah Stokes, an associate professor at University of California Santa Barbara, said. "This new report from InfluenceMap names names, showing which utilities are leaders and which are laggards."

Utilities have a large influence over climate policy where they are located, the report shows. The report cites PSEG's CEO in a press release advocating for ambitious climate policy during COP26 negotiations.

California and Illinois are the other top supporters of climate policy, with Edison International and Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation in California and Exelon in Illinois, the report said. The lowest scorers are CenterPoint Energy (Texas), Southern Company (Georgia), Ameren Corporation (Missouri) and WEC Energy Group (Ohio). The lower scoring utilities oppose climate policies and some even support anti-climate measures.

"Energy utilities – and their trade associations – must align their lobbying with the goals of the Paris Agreement to hold warming to 1.5oC. This report makes it clear that most are not on the right trajectory, and that needs to change," said Christina Herman, director of the Climate and Environmental Justice Program at the Interfaith Center of Corporate Responsibility.