New Jersey Default Service Auction Results In Lower Rates For BGS Customers

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has approved the 2022 procurement of contracts for one-third of the fixed price Basic Generation Service (BGS) default electric service

While mass market rates were higher than a year-ago auction, the rates are still lower (at most EDCs) than the tranches of laddered supply being replaced in the 2022 auction, with the BPU reporting non-shopping customers will see a small decrease in their average total bill as a result of the auction

For fixed price residential and small commercial customers (BGS-RSCP, below 500 kW), the 2022 BGS auction procured 36-month tranches for the period starting June 1, 2022, with pricing as follows:

2022 BGS-RSCP Auction Prices
 36-Month Tranches 
 (One tranche = approximately 90 to 932 MW)

Utility     Closing Price    Tranches
              (¢/kWh)        Procured
ACE            7.557               7
JCP&L          7.750              18
PSE&G          7.630              28
RECO           8.206               1

Final fixed price BGS rates will reflect a blend of the above prices and prices from the two prior BGS auctions, under a blending process. The energy secured in the fixed-price 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, 2022. The remaining two-thirds of customer supply requirements for the 12-month time period beginning June 1, 2022 will be met by electric supply secured in the BGS auctions of 2020 and 2021.

The BPU said, "The average monthly BGS residential ratepayer bill is expected to remain stable for most customers. The average monthly bill will decrease anywhere from 1.1% to 2.8%. Specifically, ratepayers supplied by PSE&G will see an average estimated bill decrease of 2.8%, ratepayers supplied by JCP&L will see an average estimated bill decrease of 1.1%, ratepayers supplied by ACE will see an average estimated bill decrease of 1.9%, and ratepayers supplied by RECO will see an average estimated bill decrease of 2.4%."

The BPU reported that for an average residential customer (using 650 kWh), the prices from the new auction result in the following estimated decreases in the monthly bill, on a total bill basis

Utility       Change
ACE           -1.9%
JCP&L         -1.1%
PSE&G         -2.8%
RECO          -2.4%

The BPU also approved results from the CIEP auction (hourly priced customers)

The winning prices for the CIEP auction was as follows:

CIEP Auction 2022 Prices
Utility       Closing Price   Tranches
               ($/Mw-day)     Procured
ACE              284.85          4
JCP&L            254.80         10
PSE&G            276.26         22
RECO             260.48          1

* The CIEP tranche sizes are approximate, as follows: ACE – 74.40 MW; JCP&L – 73.94 MW; PSE&G – 76.49 MW; RECO – 45.22 MW

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

Axpo U.S. LLC

Calpine Energy Services L.P.

ConocoPhillips Company

Constellation Energy Generation, LLC

DTE Energy Trading, Inc.

Dynegy Marketing and Trade, LLC

Hartree Partners, L.P.

Macquarie Energy, LLC

NextEra Energy Marketing, LLC

TransAlta Energy Marketing (U.S.) Inc.

The BGS-CIEP Auction winners are:

ConocoPhillips Company

DTE Energy Trading, Inc.

Constellation Energy Generation, LLC

NextEra Energy Marketing, LLC

TransAlta Energy Marketing (U.S.) Inc.