New Jersey Cannabis Energy: TPS Choice, BGS Rates, PJM Capacity, and Four Utility Territories
New Jersey pairs a fast-growing adult-use cannabis market with one of the oldest full retail electric choice programs in the country. Every commercial customer of PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric can buy supply from a BPU-licensed Third Party Supplier while the utility keeps delivering. What you pay depends on size: small and medium accounts default to a fixed BGS-RSCP price from the annual auction, while larger cultivators and processors land on hourly BGS-CIEP tied to PJM real-time prices unless they sign a supplier contract. The June 2026 statewide commercial average of 18.47 cents per kWh sits 30 percent above the U.S. average, and most of the gap is delivery and PJM capacity, not fuel.
Figures from the New Jersey data file, last verified 2026-09-11. Sources listed at the bottom of this page.
How New Jersey's cannabis market is structured
Adult-use sales began April 21, 2022 under the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization (CREAMM) Act (P.L. 2021, c.16), which folded the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act program under the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) [nj-crc-businesses]. The CRC licenses and regulates; there is no statutory cap on licenses statewide [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review].
The market is large and still expanding. As of December 17, 2025, 397 cannabis businesses were licensed to operate under the CREAMM Act, more than 270 medicinal and adult-use dispensaries were open across 21 counties, and 211 of New Jersey's 564 municipalities allowed at least one class of cannabis business [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review]. The CRC does not publish a headline split of the 397 by license class in its year-end report, so per-class cultivator and processor counts are best taken from the CRC's Permitted and Licensed Cannabis Businesses list [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review]. Retailers account for the largest share of operating businesses [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review].
License classes under the CREAMM Act include Class 1 cultivator, Class 2 manufacturer, Class 3 wholesaler, Class 4 distributor, Class 5 retailer, Class 6 delivery, and conditional variants [nj-crc-businesses]. Two structural facts matter for energy planning:
- Municipal opt-in controls siting. Under the CREAMM Act, each municipality decides which license classes it allows. Only 211 municipalities had opted in by end of 2025, so where you can build is as much a zoning question as a utility question [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review].
- The awarded-to-operating gap is wide. The CRC awards conditional licenses well ahead of facilities being built [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review]. Pre-construction months are when service size, rate class, and supply contracts get locked in, often before the first harvest kilowatt-hour is metered.
How electricity choice works here
New Jersey opened retail electric choice in 1999 under the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act (EDECA), N.J.S.A. 48:3-49 et seq. [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]. All residential, commercial, and industrial customers of PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric may buy supply from a BPU-licensed Third Party Supplier (TPS) [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]. Customers who do not shop receive Basic Generation Service (BGS) from the electric distribution company (EDC) at prices set in the annual statewide BGS auction certified by BPU order [nj-bpu-bgs-2026]. Municipal electric systems and the Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative sit outside this framework [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping].
The BPU publishes licensed suppliers at NJ Power Switch and an Energy Shopping Handbook for businesses that walks through fixed, floating, and hybrid offers [nj-powerswitch] [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]. The utility keeps the wires, the meter, and outage response; the TPS only replaces the supply line [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping].
New Jersey runs two default-service products, and the split matters for cannabis:
| Product | Who gets it | How supply is priced |
|---|---|---|
| BGS-RSCP | Small and medium commercial (PSE&G GLP and LPL-Secondary under 500 kW; comparable classes at other EDCs) | Fixed price from three-year laddered auction tranches; 2026 closing prices run 10.938 to 12.057 cents/kWh across the four EDCs, effective June 1, 2026 [nj-bpu-bgs-2026] |
| BGS-CIEP | Larger C&I customers above the RSCP threshold at each EDC | PJM real-time hourly energy plus an auction-set capacity and transmission charge of about $598 to $680 per MW-day for June 2026 through May 2027 [nj-bpu-bgs-2026] |
The benchmark for a shopping decision is the EDC's BGS price for your rate class, not a single statewide price to compare [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]. A fixed TPS offer for a small dispensary should be judged against BGS-RSCP on that account. A 600 kW cultivator on BGS-CIEP should compare against its trailing hourly default cost, not the RSCP number a store sees [nj-bpu-bgs-2026].
All four EDCs are in PJM Interconnection [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]. TPS contracts pass through the customer's PJM capacity obligation based on its summer peak load contribution and network transmission [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]. The BPU noted that 2026 auction prices rose mainly on higher PJM energy and capacity costs, tempered by the PJM capacity price collar adopted in 2025 [nj-bpu-bgs-2026].
What commercial power costs vs. the U.S.
| Sector | New Jersey, June 2026 | U.S. average, June 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | 18.47 cents/kWh | 14.19 cents/kWh |
| Industrial | 15.65 cents/kWh | not shown in state file |
Source: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A [eia-epm-5-6-a].
The 4.28-cent commercial premium over the national average is smaller than in New York or California, but it is still real. BGS-RSCP supply for small accounts runs near 11 to 12 cents/kWh [nj-bpu-bgs-2026], so the gap between that and 18.47 cents is mostly delivery, transmission, and surcharges on the EDC bill. For a large account on BGS-CIEP, summer hourly energy can push the supply line above the RSCP band even before capacity is added [nj-bpu-bgs-2026].
| State | Avg. commercial price | Cannabis market | Energy choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 27.33 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Commercial-only choice |
| Massachusetts | 24.52 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| New York | 23.56 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| Washington, D.C. | 23.38 cents/kWh | Medical only | Full commercial choice |
| Rhode Island | 22.70 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| Maine | 22.24 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| New Hampshire | 21.22 cents/kWh | Medical only | Full commercial choice |
| Connecticut | 19.62 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| New Jersey | 18.47 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| Maryland | 16.84 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| Michigan | 16.63 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Capped commercial choice |
| Illinois | 14.53 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| Delaware | 14.40 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| Ohio | 13.77 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Full commercial choice |
| Pennsylvania | 13.33 cents/kWh | Medical only | Full commercial choice |
| Nevada | 9.83 cents/kWh | Adult-use + medical | Commercial-only choice |
| Texas | 8.66 cents/kWh | Low-THC medical only | Full commercial choice |
The utilities and where they serve
| Utility | Territory | Default supply product (typical cannabis account) |
|---|---|---|
| PSE&G | Newark, Jersey City, Trenton, New Brunswick, Bergen through Camden corridor | GLP and LPL-Secondary under 500 kW on BGS-RSCP; larger LPL and HTS on BGS-CIEP [pseg-electric-tariffs] |
| JCP&L | Northwestern and central NJ, Jersey Shore: Morris, Monmouth, Ocean, and parts of Middlesex, Somerset, Passaic, Essex, Union, Burlington | GS small commercial on BGS-RSCP; GP and GT demand-metered on BGS-CIEP above the class threshold [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping] |
| Atlantic City Electric | Southern NJ: Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, parts of Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Ocean | MGS-Secondary small; AGS and TGS demand-metered with annual ratchet on AGS [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping] |
| Rockland Electric | Northern Bergen, Passaic, Sussex bordering New York | SC 2 and SC 2-D small; SC 3 large primary on BGS-CIEP above threshold [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping] |
PSE&G and JCP&L have dedicated pages: PSE&G and JCP&L. The rate page puts delivery classes and demand-charge structure side by side.
Climate and what it does to a grow's bill
New Jersey's 1991-2020 normals are 5,168 heating degree days and 859 cooling degree days statewide [noaa-cag-new-jersey]. The south runs humid subtropical; the northwest highlands run humid continental [noaa-cag-new-jersey]. A sealed indoor grow carries a heating season from November through March and a heavy dehumidification season from June through September [noaa-cag-new-jersey]. Coastal and Delaware Valley locations see summer dew points regularly at or above 70 F, and the shore and Pine Barrens greenhouse belt in Atlantic City Electric territory carries the highest latent loads in the state [noaa-cag-new-jersey]. The dehumidification page covers why moisture removal sets HVAC size in a flowering room.
Incentives worth knowing
- PSE&G Business Energy Efficiency Programs offer prescriptive rebates for lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, and water heating; Direct Install for facilities under 300 kW peak demand; Engineered Solutions performance-based incentives for larger custom projects; and demand response offerings, all with interest-free on-bill repayment [pseg-mybizenergy].
- JCP&L Energy Efficiency and Building Decarbonization Programs provide Direct Install and Energy Solutions assessments and incentives for small business and C&I upgrades, plus zero-interest financing for qualifying projects through June 30, 2027 [jcpl-ee-news].
- New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) C&I programs coordinate statewide ratepayer-funded efficiency with the utility programs, including the Large Energy Users Program and the Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) program for on-site commercial solar [njcep-ci].
Federal tax treatment for cannabis entities depends on your structure and 280E limits. Confirm incentive eligibility and tax treatment with your advisor before counting a rebate in a payback estimate.
Quirks that make New Jersey different
No license cap, but municipal gates. The CREAMM Act sets no statewide license limit, yet only 211 municipalities allowed cannabis by end of 2025 [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review]. A conditional cultivator may spend months choosing between PSE&G urban corridor sites with high delivery costs and Atlantic City Electric greenhouse country with extreme summer humidity [noaa-cag-new-jersey].
BGS-CIEP is an hourly default for large loads. A cultivation facility above the CIEP threshold that does not sign a TPS contract is fully exposed to PJM real-time prices during summer peaks, plus a capacity charge of roughly $598 to $680 per MW-day [nj-bpu-bgs-2026]. That exposure is the subject of the New Jersey cultivator case study.
Two benchmarks, not one. BPU's handbook directs customers to compare TPS offers against the class-specific BGS rate [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]. Mixing an RSCP quote for a store with a CIEP trailing cost for a grow in one spreadsheet produces nonsense.
PJM is the whole state. Unlike New York's zone-by-zone capacity localities inside one ISO, New Jersey sits entirely in PJM. Capacity still varies by load zone, but you are not crossing ISO boundaries within the state [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping].
For facility-specific load advice, start with the cultivation, extraction, dispensary, or multi-site page. For enrollment mechanics, read the switching guide. For the basics of why supply and delivery are separate lines, see what energy deregulation is and demand charges explained.
SuSI solar and Large Energy Users Program
NJCEP coordinates statewide C and I efficiency with utility programs, including the Large Energy Users Program and Successor Solar Incentive for on-site commercial solar [njcep-ci]. On-site PV rarely offsets a 400 kW lighting block but can shave office and veg-room load [njcep-ci]. Federal 280E limits may affect incentive stacking; confirm with your advisor before counting rebates in payback [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review].
New Jersey guides by facility type
- New Jersey Cannabis Cultivation Energy: Humid Climate, PJM Capacity, and BGS-CIEP Exposure
NJ indoor grow power: 5,168 HDD and 859 CDD, PSE&G LPL vs BGS-CIEP, dehumidification loads, and a worked cost example at 18.47 cents/kWh.
- New Jersey Cannabis Extraction and Processing Energy: Batch Loads on PJM Tariffs
NJ processor energy: chillers, vacuum ovens, C1D1 ventilation, and scheduling around BGS-CIEP and demand-metered JCP&L GP/GT classes.
- New Jersey Dispensary Energy Costs: GLP, BGS-RSCP, and Small-Commercial Supply Choice
What a NJ dispensary pays: PSE&G GLP and JCP&L GS classes, fixed BGS-RSCP supply, security and HVAC loads, with a worked bill example.
- New Jersey Multi-Site Cannabis Operators: Four EDCs, One PJM Portfolio
NJ MSO energy procurement: aggregating TPS contracts across PSE&G, JCP&L, ACE, and Rockland when grows and stores split BGS products.
- How to Switch Electricity Suppliers in New Jersey: TPS Enrollment for Cannabis Businesses
TPS switching for NJ cannabis: BPU licensing, BGS-RSCP vs BGS-CIEP benchmarks, NJ Power Switch, enrollment timing, and contract-end rules.
- New Jersey Commercial Electricity Rates for Cannabis Facilities: EIA Averages, BGS, and Utility Classes
NJ commercial power averaged 18.47 cents/kWh in June 2026 vs 14.19 nationally. BGS-RSCP and BGS-CIEP benchmarks and EDC demand-class tables.
- JCP&L for Cannabis Facilities: GS, GP, GT Classes, BGS, and Shore-County Loads
Jersey Central Power & Light cannabis billing: GS vs GP vs GT, BGS-RSCP and CIEP, Monmouth-Ocean territory, and FirstEnergy efficiency programs.
- PSE&G for Cannabis Facilities: GLP, LPL, BGS-RSCP vs BGS-CIEP, and TPS Billing
PSE&G cannabis billing: GLP vs LPL-Secondary at 500 kW, HTS primary service, BGS products, demand charges, and mybizenergy rebates.
Where we work: 16 states plus Washington, D.C.
Every jurisdiction below has a licensed cannabis market and lets commercial customers choose their electricity supplier.
Frequently asked questions
Can a New Jersey cannabis business choose its own electricity supplier?
Yes, if the facility is served by PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric. All commercial and industrial customers of those four investor-owned utilities may buy supply from a BPU-licensed Third Party Supplier. Municipal electric systems such as Vineland and the Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative are outside the BPU choice framework, so a facility on those systems cannot shop.
What is the default supply price called in New Jersey?
Basic Generation Service, or BGS. Small and medium commercial accounts get BGS-RSCP, a fixed price from the annual statewide auction. Larger accounts default to BGS-CIEP, which bills energy at PJM real-time hourly prices plus an auction-set capacity and transmission charge. The benchmark for a shopping decision is the BGS price for your rate class at your utility, not one statewide number.
Why does New Jersey commercial power cost more than the U.S. average?
EIA's June 2026 commercial average for New Jersey is 18.47 cents per kWh against a national average of 14.19. Delivery charges, PJM capacity, and transmission make up a large share of the all-in bill. A demand-metered cultivator above the BGS-CIEP threshold that stays on default service is exposed to PJM hourly prices during summer peaks, which can push the supply line well above the fixed BGS-RSCP rates that smaller accounts receive.
Does New Jersey cap cannabis licenses?
No. The CREAMM Act sets no statewide limit on licenses. As of December 17, 2025, 397 cannabis businesses were licensed to operate under the CREAMM Act, with more than 270 medicinal and adult-use dispensaries open across 21 counties. The CRC awards conditional licenses ahead of buildout, so many cultivators and manufacturers are still in site selection when service size and supply contracts get locked in.
Are there cannabis-specific energy rules in New Jersey?
Unlike New York, New Jersey does not write lighting efficacy or dehumidification standards into the cannabis license. Energy compliance is the same as for any commercial customer: meet building and fire codes, pay the utility tariff, and manage demand. That does not make efficiency optional; it just means the regulator is the BPU and your local building department, not the CRC.
Which incentives should a New Jersey operator look at first?
Start with the utility program in your territory. PSE&G runs prescriptive rebates, Direct Install for accounts under 300 kW peak demand, and Engineered Solutions for larger custom projects through mybizenergy.pseg.com. JCP&L offers Direct Install and Energy Solutions with zero-interest financing through June 30, 2027. The statewide NJCEP C&I programs coordinate with those utility offerings and include the SuSI commercial solar incentive.
Related reading
- New Jersey Cannabis Cultivation Energy: Humid Climate, PJM Capacity, and BGS-CIEP Exposure
NJ indoor grow power: 5,168 HDD and 859 CDD, PSE&G LPL vs BGS-CIEP, dehumidification loads, and a worked cost example at 18.47 cents/kWh.
- New Jersey Cannabis Extraction and Processing Energy: Batch Loads on PJM Tariffs
NJ processor energy: chillers, vacuum ovens, C1D1 ventilation, and scheduling around BGS-CIEP and demand-metered JCP&L GP/GT classes.
- New Jersey Dispensary Energy Costs: GLP, BGS-RSCP, and Small-Commercial Supply Choice
What a NJ dispensary pays: PSE&G GLP and JCP&L GS classes, fixed BGS-RSCP supply, security and HVAC loads, with a worked bill example.
- New Jersey Multi-Site Cannabis Operators: Four EDCs, One PJM Portfolio
NJ MSO energy procurement: aggregating TPS contracts across PSE&G, JCP&L, ACE, and Rockland when grows and stores split BGS products.
- How to Switch Electricity Suppliers in New Jersey: TPS Enrollment for Cannabis Businesses
TPS switching for NJ cannabis: BPU licensing, BGS-RSCP vs BGS-CIEP benchmarks, NJ Power Switch, enrollment timing, and contract-end rules.
- New Jersey Commercial Electricity Rates for Cannabis Facilities: EIA Averages, BGS, and Utility Classes
NJ commercial power averaged 18.47 cents/kWh in June 2026 vs 14.19 nationally. BGS-RSCP and BGS-CIEP benchmarks and EDC demand-class tables.
- PSE&G for Cannabis Facilities: GLP, LPL, BGS-RSCP vs BGS-CIEP, and TPS Billing
PSE&G cannabis billing: GLP vs LPL-Secondary at 500 kW, HTS primary service, BGS products, demand charges, and mybizenergy rebates.
- JCP&L for Cannabis Facilities: GS, GP, GT Classes, BGS, and Shore-County Loads
Jersey Central Power & Light cannabis billing: GS vs GP vs GT, BGS-RSCP and CIEP, Monmouth-Ocean territory, and FirstEnergy efficiency programs.
- What Is Energy Deregulation? How Electricity Choice Works for Commercial Customers
How deregulation splits supply from delivery, who gets to choose a supplier, what the utility still does, and where cannabis businesses can shop in 17 markets.
- Demand Charges Explained for Cannabis Cultivators
What a demand charge is, how utilities measure peak kW in 15- or 30-minute windows, why grow rooms get hit hard, how ratchets work, and a worked example.
- Fixed vs. Index vs. Block-and-Index Electricity Contracts
What each supply structure means, who carries price risk, which fits a 24/7 grow load, what pass-throughs do, and a worked 12-month comparison.
- Dehumidification Load in Indoor Cannabis Cultivation
How much water a flowering canopy puts into the air, latent vs sensible load, dehumidifier pints-per-kWh ratings, and how it shows up on the electric bill.
- Illustrative Case: PSE&G Cultivator Untangles BGS-CIEP Capacity Before Signing a TPS Contract
Illustrative PSE&G cultivator example: BGS-CIEP hourly default, PJM capacity at $598 to $680 per MW-day, and peak management before a fixed TPS contract.
Jason Taken founded Jaken Energy, the commercial energy procurement practice behind this site. He works with licensed cannabis operators in deregulated electricity markets to lower supply rates, manage demand charges, and evaluate efficiency upgrades.
Sources
Inline citations in this article, such as [eia-epm-5-6-a], refer to the entries below. Links open the primary source in a new tab.
- [eia-epm-5-6-a]Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, June 2026 and June 2025 — U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [nj-crc-2025-year-in-review]CRC High Points: 2025 Year in Review (February 6, 2026) — New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [nj-crc-businesses]Recreational Business Application (license classes under the CREAMM Act) — New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [nj-bpu-commercial-shopping]Energy Shopping for Commercial Customers — New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [nj-bpu-bgs-2026]New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Certifies 2026 Electricity Auction Results (February 12, 2026) — New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [nj-powerswitch]NJ Power Switch (licensed third party suppliers) — New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [pseg-electric-tariffs]PSE&G Electric Tariffs (B.P.U.N.J. No. 17, effective July 15, 2026) — PSE&G. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [pseg-mybizenergy]PSE&G Business Energy Efficiency Programs — PSE&G. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [jcpl-ee-news]JCP&L Expanding Energy Efficiency Offerings — FirstEnergy Corp.. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [njcep-ci]New Jersey's Clean Energy Program: Commercial and Industrial Programs — New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Accessed 2026-09-11.
- [noaa-cag-new-jersey]Climate at a Glance: New Jersey statewide heating and cooling degree days, 1991-2020 base period averages — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Accessed 2026-09-11.