New Jersey Faces Power Crisis: Governor Takes Action

New Jersey is in a tough spot when it comes to electricity. The state is struggling with high costs and a grid that can't keep up. Governor Mikie Sherrill just declared a state of emergency to tackle this problem. She signed two big orders right after her inauguration. One is about making more solar power, batteries, and virtual power plants quickly. The other is about fixing rules that slow down energy projects. She also set up a team to look at nuclear power and told all state agencies to speed up energy projects. Why is this happening? Demand for electricity is going up fast. Data centers, which need a lot of power, are a big part of the problem. The grid operator, PJM, says demand could jump by 20% by 2030. This could lead to blackouts and higher prices.Electricity prices have already gone up a lot. Residential prices rose by more than 33% between June 2023 and June 2025. Overall customer prices are up nearly 30%. PJM's capacity prices surged by more than 800% in 2024. Sherrill's orders also aim to stop "ghost load. " This is when big power users, like data centers, make too many connection requests. This artificially inflates demand and pushes costs higher for everyone. The governor's actions show how serious the situation is. Without quick fixes, the grid could buckle under pressure. This could lead to deliberate power restrictions or even blackouts.