Volunteer firefighters face crushing New Jersey electric bills

🔥 New Jersey volunteer fire companies struggle to keep the lights on.

🔥 They face higher electric bills than residents.

🔥 Lawmakers want to give volunteers a break.

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — New Jersey residents aren't the only ones feeling the burn from soaring utility costs; volunteer companies are struggling to pay their electric bills.

Two New Jersey lawmakers are trying to give these volunteer fire companies and rescue squads a break. A newly introduced bill would require utilities to charge volunteer buildings, whether fire companies or rescue squads, the lowest available electric rate.

"Volunteer fire companies are saving municipalities and taxpayers a ton of money. Anything we can do to lower their costs, to give them more flexibility to operate their buildings and what they're doing to protect the public, is going to benefit New Jersey as a whole," state Sen. Vince Polistina said to New Jersey 101.5.

Lawmakers push bill to lower electric rates for firehouses

The Republican from Atlantic County said he expects that to save volunteer fire companies hundreds of dollars on their electric bills each month. State Sen. Carmen Amato, Jr., R-Ocean, said the lower rates would let volunteers, who are already financially strained, focus on saving lives instead of keeping the lights on.

In Atlantic County, fire companies pay the Atlantic City Electric commercial rate, which is 21.83 cents per kWh. If the bill passes, volunteer companies would pay the residential rate of 17.97 cents per kWh.

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In Egg Harbor Township, each of the township's five volunteer fire companies individually pays to keep the lights on, according to Fire Chief Patrick Flynn. Township fire officials met with the lawmakers about the high rates before the bill was introduced.

Flynn said that some companies in Egg Harbor Township are having trouble due to these higher costs, though it's not yet to the point where they would have to close or consolidate stations.

Utility rate hikes spark action from Gov. Mikie Sherrill

Last month, Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed two executive orders to address utility costs. One was a rate freeze, and the other fast-tracked new energy projects, including nuclear, solar, and battery storage development.

The historic move came after a year of massive electric rate increases. On June 1, rates skyrocketed 17-20%.

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