SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 1673

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 28, 2026

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1673 (1R).

      As amended, this bill requires a transmission owner located in the State on or after the bill’s effective date to be a member of, and transfer control of any electric transmission facilities that it owns or operates to, an “RTO.”  The bill defines “RTO” as an entity approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to serve as a regional transmission organization, independent system operator, or functionally-similar entity.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to: 

(1) revise the findings and declarations section;

(2) revise the scope of the bill to apply to electric transmission facilities generally instead of electric transmission facilities placed in service in the State on or after January 1, 2027;

(3) remove provisions that clarified the rights and responsibilities of transmission owners located in the State with respect to electric transmission facilities placed in service in the State prior to January 1, 2027;

(4) remove provisions that clarified the bill’s impact on certain transmission rates within the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and on the authorization for modifications to any rate, charge, or incentive, applicable to electric transmission facilities placed in service in the State prior to January 1, 2027;

(5) remove a provision specifying that the Division of Rate Counsel was to retain its statutory authority with respect to any proceeding or filing not premised on the bill’s provisions;

(6) remove a provision clarifying that the bill does not apply to any electric transmission facility, or project to construct such a facility, commenced before or after January 1, 2027 that was cancelled and never placed in service;

(7) remove provisions clarifying that the bill does not govern or operate as a condition upon the ownership, operation, or control of any electric transmission facility placed in service in the State before January 1, 2027 and does not require any transmission owner to divest, transfer, or relinquish any ownership interest, contractual right, or operational arrangement in existence on the bill’s effective date; and

(8) revise the bill’s synopsis.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.