Consumer Advocates Help Keep Utility Rates Affordable

AARP and other consumer advocates worked to block most of a $70 million rate hike proposed by Atlantic City Electric, which provides power to about 547,000 customers. The state Board of Public Utilities decided in June to hold the increase to $25.5 million.

“This win boosts morale as AARP volunteers continue to fight rate hikes sought by the state’s two largest utilities,” said Jeff Abramo, AARP New Jersey spokesman.

State residents pay the seventh-highest electric rates in the country, and New Jersey ranks fifth among states whose cost of living exceeds the average annual income of residents age 65-plus, according to a study by Wider Opportunities for Women and the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

To get involved, go to action.aarp.org/NJutilities.