Affordability and energy reliability are at the center of today’s industry conversation. Across the country, we’re experiencing dramatically rising electricity rates driven by a rapidly emerging power supply/demand imbalance. Resource adequacy, capacity market pricing and reserve margins are no longer arcane industry terms, but mainstream topics, as power costs and availability call for immediate attention from policymakers. At the same time, long-term climate, sustainability and emission-reduction goals remain top of mind for both public and private sectors entities.
At New Jersey Resources (NJR), our long-term strategy is unchanged. Our focused, disciplined approach ensures we are well-positioned to meet the moment. For years, our core belief has been that emissions reduction, affordability and reliability must exist together. We have focused on programs and investments that are designed to achieve these goals:
- Making progress on climate goals by reducing emissions.
- Contributing to energy capacity and reliability by cutting energy consumption and reducing demand
- Empowering families and businesses with tools and choices that result in real savings on their energy bills.
As industry and policy come together to navigate these challenges, we understand the central role our company’s infrastructure will play. New Jersey’s natural gas pipeline system — built over many decades of ratepayer investment — is the foundation of energy affordability in New Jersey today. Natural gas continues to provide the most affordable and reliable heating solution for homes and businesses, and does not face the same capacity constraints as the electric system. Leveraged as a solution, it can deliver cost-effective supply solutions and programs that directly reduce customer energy bills.
NJR Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) is similarly positioned to help drive down electric capacity costs that are driving higher bills for New Jerseyans. Solar is one of the fastest-to-deploy generation solutions to our supply-demand imbalance. CEV maintains a 1.2-gigawatt pipeline of solar projects, and is ready to build and deliver hundreds of those megawatts to the grid in New Jersey.
Finally, NJR understands that innovation is a key part of this journey.
Our diversified businesses position NJR to take these challenges head on with solutions and action. Across our company, we are driving innovative technology and strategies to achieve better affordability, reliability and environmental outcomes at the same time.
Just this year, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) became the first utility in the state to:
- Deploy two cutting-edge distributed carbon-capture technologies that are reducing emissions while improving efficiency in our corporate buildings
- Provide incentives under a formal energy- efficiency program for the installation of hybrid heating systems in customer homes and businesses.
- Deploy next-generation natural gas heat pumps for commercial customers.
Our commitment to sustainability continues to shape our actions and strategy as a business. We have made great progress in reducing our emissions and building the cleaner energy future of tomorrow across all our operations.
These efforts will remain anchored in sound governance, investment in our business, our people and our communities and customer affordability. We’ll continue to make progress on our emissions reduction commitments, while advancing environmental stewardship in the communities where we live and work. And, we’ll continue to be transparent with our stakeholders on our sustainability approach and vision, as established in this report and its accompanying disclosure appendices.
On behalf of NJR’s more than 1,300 employees, we are pleased to share our sustainability record and priorities with you. Thank you for taking the time to learn about our efforts in this report — our 17th year of issuing a Corporate Sustainability Report.
Sincerely,
Steve Westhoven
President and Chief Executive Officer