Across America, Utilities Are Bilking Ratepayers
From New Jersey to Maryland, utilities are wasting millions while demanding that families foot the bill. Sunlight is the only cure.
Utility bills in New Jersey are out of control. After average electric bills spiked 20% this summer, monopoly utilities like Atlantic City Electric are already back demanding millions more. Families are being forced to choose between food, medicine, and keeping the lights on—and the utilities want a bigger cut.
The scam isn’t hard to spot. Investor-owned utilities are guaranteed a profit rate as much as 10% baked right into your rates. The more they spend, the more they earn. That means they have every incentive to overbuild, overspend, and then pass the tab to you. It’s called “gold plating,” and it’s why delivery charges have jumped as much as 30% for electricity since 2020.
This isn’t about “reliability” or “modernization.” It’s about guaranteed profits. Evelyn Liebman, a longtime consumer watchdog, put it bluntly in a recent op-ed: “… utilities should have to open their books and prove where the money is going before hitting families with another rate hike.”
She’s right.
And it’s not just New Jersey. In Maryland, Baltimore Gas & Electric bought a $17.5 million contract for a truck it claimed was “necessary.” That’s not modernization—it’s a monument to waste.
If utilities get their way, households could even end up subsidizing massive new data centers that drive up demand but fatten Wall Street. Why should seniors on fixed incomes be forced to bankroll Silicon Valley server farms?
The answer is simple: they shouldn’t.
Transparency isn’t optional anymore. Every rate hike should trigger a full, independent audit. If utilities can’t prove they need the money, they don’t get it. Period.
Electricity is a lifeline, not a luxury. Families should not be gouged so private monopolies can juice shareholder returns. New Jersey—and every state—needs to slam the brakes on this money grab and demand sunlight.
When you’re in a hole, stop digging. It’s time utilities lived by that rule, too.
