TRENTON-The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has once again cancelled public hearings to discuss the as yet unreleased 2011 New Jersey Energy Master Plan. The meetings had been scheduled for May 20 in Newark, May 25 in Pomona and June 1 in Trenton. No reason for the delay was given.
“To accomplish its goal of ensuring that New Jersey continues to have reliable energy at reasonable rates, the Board will soon release draft revisions to the 2008 Energy Master Plan via the BPU website and EMP listserv,” said the statement from Governor Chris Christie’s office. No dates were given.
The state is required by a 1997 law to update the energy master plan every three years, and the most recent plan was issued in 2008. The Christie Administration has been working on the update for several months, with the last delay centered around incorporating data from the Long-Term Capacity Agreement Pilot Program (LCAPP), which encouraged new electric generation facilities in the state.
The update will have to be issued soon, says Michael McGuinness, CEO of NAIOP NJ, who expressed disappointment with the latest delay. “We were looking forward to seeing what was in there,” McGuinness told GlobeSt.com “We’re somewhat concerned because we don’t want to increase uncertainty or generate additional concerns that the incentive program might be diminished.”
McGuinness says he intends to send BPU president Lee A. Solomon an email regarding the most recent delay. Solomon spoke at a NAIOP NJ seminar in April, predicting that the updated would be issued within “the next month or so.”
The problem, McGuinness says is that the state legislature will be focused on budget issues through June, and then begin its summer recess. With elections coming up in November, it’s unlikely action would be taken until late in the year.
“If something doesn’t happen in the next four weeks,” McGuinness says, “odds are rather slim that anything will happen before Thanksgiving.”
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