FERC Orders Evidentiary Hearing After Public Citizen Alleges PSE&G Overcharged Consumers for Transmission Project
WASHINGTON — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today ruled that a complaint brought by Public Citizen against Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) accusing the company of unnecessarily inflating the scope of reconstruction of the Roseland-to-Pleasant Valley transmission line, and those costs have been unjustly passed along to energy consumers in New Jersey.
The complaint will now move toward an evidentiary hearing where Public Citizen will argue that energy consumers in New Jersey should receive refunds for PSE&G’s overreach. In its ruling, FERC found that PSE&G’s determination that the transmission towers it replaced had reached the end of their lifespan, bringing into question the prudence of their replacement.
“PSE&G’s move to hike rates for inflated costs associated with this project hit New Jersey consumers directly in the pocketbook,” said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program. “We applaud FERC for pushing for a deeper investigation into the utilities actions. Public Citizen will continue to press to ensure that working families are refunded every cent they paid toward PSE&G’s past and future inflated costs.”
The replacement of the Roseland-to-Pleasant Valley transmission line was part of a $546 million project by PSE&G to replace a 50 mile transmission line that included 264 steel lattice transmission towers. According to FERC, PSE&G told its consultants to make faulty assumptions about the current state of the steel towers that led to a conclusion requiring more towers to be removed than was necessary.
In December of 2024, PSE&G agreed to pay a $6.6 million settlement with FERC to resolve allegations that it submitted inaccurate information regarding the urgency and scope of a $546 million local transmission project. The penalty was paid to the US Treasury, and Public Citizen’s complaint is designed to ensure that ratepayers are protected from the utility’s overcharges. The current complaint before FERC alleges that PSE&G passed those costs onto consumers.
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