STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE FOR

ASSEMBLY, No. 5267

with Senate Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Senator Smith)

ADOPTED: JUNE 30, 2025

      These floor amendments: 

      (1)  require the Board of Public Utilities (board) to approve incentive awards for eligible projects under the bill issued in Tranche 1 or Tranche 2 by June 30, 2026, rather than December 31, 2026;

      (2)  require the board to approve incentive awards for eligible projects under the bill issued in Tranche 1 by December 31, 2025, rather than April 1, 2026;

      (3)  specify that at least 350 MW AC, instead of at least 500 MW AC, of the 1,000 MW AC procurement goal is to be approved in incentive awards for eligible projects in Tranche 1 by December 31, 2025;

      (4)  require certain transmission-scale energy storage systems, depending on which project maturity requirements a system fulfils, to have the associated Capacity Interconnection Rights through PJM in order to qualify for an incentive award under the bill instead of requiring all transmission-scale energy storage systems to have the associated Capacity Interconnection Rights through PJM in order to qualify for an incentive award under the bill;

      (5)  remove the requirement for the board to consider the extent to which a project provides value to the distribution system, including locational benefits, peak load reduction, or deferral of infrastructure upgrades when reviewing an incentive award application under the bill;

      (6)  remove the requirement for the board to consider whether a project contributes to local grid reliability, resilience, or emergency backup service for critical facilities when reviewing an incentive award application under the bill;

      (7)  require the board to begin accepting applications for Tranche 1 by September 30, 2025, rather than January 15, 2026;

      (8)  remove the requirement for the board to develop standardized service agreements between electric public utilities and eligible projects that have received an incentive award pursuant to the bill;

      (9)  permit the board to use a competitive solicitation process to determine incentive award amounts in subsequent tranches;

      (10)  clarify that the board is required to deposit funds into the “Energy Storage Fund” each year until the end of all award periods for incentive awards;

      (11)  authorize monies deposited in the “Energy Storage Fund” to be used to fund the energy storage incentives issued pursuant to the board’s Garden State Energy Storage Program, in addition to the incentive awards issued pursuant to the bill; and

      (12)  make technical corrections.