The Energy Master Plan Governor Murphy unveiled by executive order last January establishes a goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050, but the Administration has dodged efforts to put a price tag on the initiative.
“If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it, and New Jersey certainly cannot afford the utopian energy dream Murphy shares with the liberal elite in Washington,” said Senator Michael Testa (R-1).
Testa’s comments followed the release of white paper published by a nonprofit, Affordable Energy for New Jersey that calculated the cost to taxpayers for Murphy’s delusion at $525 billion.
“This folly will syphon more than $52,000 from the pockets of every man, woman and child in the State. That is unsustainable anywhere, but in one of the nation’s most costly states to live in, with some of the highest taxes, it is an abomination,” Testa noted.
Murphy’s energy doctrine is 290 pages full of green energy mandates.
“This is not a ‘master plan’ but a disaster plan for New Jersey’s families, who are already stressed to the limit,” Testa said. “It represents yet another giant leap transforming the Jersey we know and love into the California of the East Coast.
“This state requires an energy strategy based in reality, not one suited for a fantasy world where money is no object and every day is sunny and comfortably warm. Our residents are living in the real world. Money is tight and the cost of living is high.”
The white paper estimates electric bills across the state will skyrocket by $155 billion, the cost of meeting the electric vehicle mandate will reach $176 billion, and electrifying homes, apartments and businesses in the state could exceed $65 billion.
“These are hard numbers in a state that cannot afford them,” Testa said. “Forcing these costs on New Jersey families is indefensible. Murphy would do better incentivizing beneficial environmental changes, not hitting residents over the head and handing them the bill.”