{"id":390985,"date":"2025-07-27T12:15:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T10:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=390985"},"modified":"2025-07-27T12:15:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T10:15:40","slug":"poll-finds-new-jersey-residents-prioritize-energy-security-over-radical-climate-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=390985","title":{"rendered":"Poll Finds New Jersey Residents Prioritize Energy Security Over Radical Climate Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Illustration<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gabriella Hoffman<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As New Jersey families endure summer heatwaves, there\u2019s growing support for practical energy policies that keep the lights on and air conditioning running. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to new polling<\/a> from Independent Women\u2019s Voice, 85% of likely voters in the 2025 New Jersey statewide elections worry about rising energy costs expected to result from existing state climate policies\u2013including 83% of women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garden State residents were expected to see a 20%<\/a> spike in their utility bills commencing on June 1st, even as some ratepayers were already paying $500<\/a> a month. This is a consequence of the Murphy administration embracing a plan to force consumers into using 100% renewable energy<\/a>. But the Board of Public Utilities bailed them out and delayed implementation of the rate hike until after September 30th. So New Jersey voters are spared enormous energy cost spikes for now, but not for long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ)\u2019s Energy Master Plan, an executive order signed<\/a> in 2023 mandating the state reach 100% clean energy by 2035 through solar, wind, electric vehicles, and batteries, is squarely to blame for higher utility bills. Murphy\u2019s green transition plan is estimated to cost $1.4 trillion<\/a> in lost income, or $140,000<\/a> per average New Jerseyan over  the next 25 years, while yielding no tangible environmental benefit. This isn\u2019t sustainable for struggling families who already can\u2019t pay their energy bills on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, 80% of swing voters are concerned about energy reliability \u2013 including 81% of women. Upon learning the 20% electricity rate hike is attributed to Murphy\u2019s agenda, 53% of women reported they are less supportive of New Jersey\u2019s climate policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2017<\/a>, when Governor Murphy entered office, five coal plants and the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, which produced 20% of the state\u2019s electricity capacity, have permanently closed<\/a> down. Unsurprisingly, the Energy Master Plan has invited more energy insecurity into the Garden State \u2013 which is now a net-energy importer state. Unsurprisingly, New Jersey will never reach its clean energy goals, as it\u2019s mostly powered by natural gas (49%) and nuclear (42%) for electricity generation. Renewables, like solar energy, barely account for 8% of New Jersey\u2019s energy mix. States like New Jersey can\u2019t run on part-time energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PJM Interconnection, a grid operator servicing New Jersey and 12 other states, said<\/a> that prematurely retiring power plants and replacing them with renewables like solar and wind could undermine grid stability this summer. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) equally warned in its 2025 Summer Reliability Assessment<\/a> that solar and battery additions \u201cintroduce more complexity and energy limitations into the resource mix.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, air conditioning<\/a>, manufacturing, and transportation costs, energy is a top issue for New Jersey voters going into the fall. 64% of swing voters and 59% of women saying energy was among their top three issues, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After learning about the implications of Murphy\u2019s 2035 net-zero target, swing voters decreased their support for the governor\u2019s climate policies by 9% and women decreased their support by 11%, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Jersey voters are equally worried that Governor Murphy\u2019s climate policies are more extreme than California\u2019s. Our polling found 72% of swing voters and 71% of women are concerned with the extreme direction their state is heading in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Jersey\u2019s energy crisis is self-inflicted. After implementing this costly Energy Master Plan and closing down 6 reliable power stations, Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) now wants<\/a> his constituents to conserve energy by setting their ACs to 76-78 degrees Fahrenheit, delaying appliance usage until 8pm, and making a plan for power outages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The late President Jimmy Carter famously called<\/a> on Americans to set their homes \u201cto 65 degrees in the daytime and lower at night\u201d to reduce heating costs, which helped make him a one-term president. This strategy of sacrificing for less reliable energy, to be climate-friendly, isn\u2019t a winning strategy for today\u2019s New Jersey Democrats, either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Jerseyans, like their fellow Americans, want abundant, reliable, and secure energy. There are two legislative remedies Trenton lawmakers can consider to achieve this: exploring<\/a> the feasibility of small modular reactors (SMRs) and reforming<\/a> the Energy Master Plan to deemphasize unreliable solar and wind energy. Since New Jersey already has two nuclear power plants, SMRs \u2013 smaller reactors that are portable and easier to construct \u2013 will supplement existing projects, produce more reliable energy, and help the state reduce its reliance on imported electricity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s imperative whoever succeeds Governor Murphy after November puts their constituents ahead of costly climate policies that reduce quality of life and do little to conserve the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriella Hoffman is director of Independent Women\u2019s Center for Energy and Conservation. Follow her on X at @Gabby_Hoffman<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As New Jersey families endure summer heatwaves, there\u2019s growing support for practical energy policies that keep the lights on and air conditioning running. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":390987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore why New Jersey voters prioritize energy security over extreme climate policies amid rising costs and fears of energy shortages.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"New Jersey Voters Prioritize Energy Security Over Climate Policies","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691822666,691819432,691836810,691836811,691818430,691818181,691822517],"class_list":{"0":"post-390985","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence-ai","9":"tag-energy-policies","10":"tag-governor-phil-murphy-d-njs-energy-master-plan","11":"tag-murphys-agenda","12":"tag-new-jersey","13":"tag-renewable-energy","14":"tag-small-modular-reactors-smrs","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQN6LS26OLJQa_Vxf_EfGM523vNN_pVyD-ENtLTEGCwxVq3rn5H6t84jsQ1UNdcmsK3KNBoNLz59s6Q3eKRTrAZ1tUw2jAzAZEvpNaoBU2hzWEuZY7MKRWz9TzSQokzBPjZvHo3p1IqnTH57h9NBRhfaKD7JjA-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1DId","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":403534,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=403534","url_meta":{"origin":390985,"position":0},"title":"Rising electricity prices put New Jersey governor\u2019s race in play","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Phony promises failed policies expose cynical blame game against grid operator.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon tax plan\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon tax plan","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-tax-plan"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMl2kgMXUrCODcDiohR29s9ZcvwpRvqW9e59-5e6aTUYL-koY54xv28VQKgwngak2_yg-vViOpfV3HqMV8mNFkKjqItOsf0c2J96TTLgEmBAbY0f4MYZYFf9ambVqHBk9SLBZzL33phxNpymWKeycroVryMcg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMl2kgMXUrCODcDiohR29s9ZcvwpRvqW9e59-5e6aTUYL-koY54xv28VQKgwngak2_yg-vViOpfV3HqMV8mNFkKjqItOsf0c2J96TTLgEmBAbY0f4MYZYFf9ambVqHBk9SLBZzL33phxNpymWKeycroVryMcg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMl2kgMXUrCODcDiohR29s9ZcvwpRvqW9e59-5e6aTUYL-koY54xv28VQKgwngak2_yg-vViOpfV3HqMV8mNFkKjqItOsf0c2J96TTLgEmBAbY0f4MYZYFf9ambVqHBk9SLBZzL33phxNpymWKeycroVryMcg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMl2kgMXUrCODcDiohR29s9ZcvwpRvqW9e59-5e6aTUYL-koY54xv28VQKgwngak2_yg-vViOpfV3HqMV8mNFkKjqItOsf0c2J96TTLgEmBAbY0f4MYZYFf9ambVqHBk9SLBZzL33phxNpymWKeycroVryMcg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMl2kgMXUrCODcDiohR29s9ZcvwpRvqW9e59-5e6aTUYL-koY54xv28VQKgwngak2_yg-vViOpfV3HqMV8mNFkKjqItOsf0c2J96TTLgEmBAbY0f4MYZYFf9ambVqHBk9SLBZzL33phxNpymWKeycroVryMcg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":434224,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=434224","url_meta":{"origin":390985,"position":1},"title":"New Jersey Legislation Targeting Energy Companies Will Hurt Consumers","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Energy affordability is on the ballot this year. 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