PSE&G Solar Energy Systems Took Big Hit From Hurricane Sandy

Written by Tom Johnson (courtesy of NJ Spotlight)

Hurricane Sandy damaged huge portions of the traditional power grid, but it also wreaked havoc on some of the installations of New Jersey’s largest solar developer.

In a filing with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Public Service Electric & Gas said its solar installations suffered more than $3 million worth of damage, primarily from storm surges that flooded ground-mounted solar systems, as well as wind and lightning taking their toll on rooftop arrays.

The petition, an update required annually by the agency, is not specifically focused on the storm. Instead, it seeks approval to collect from $111 million from its electric customers from October 2013 to September 2014 and another $19 million from its gas customers for a variety of green energy programs. The filing details how expenditures in the program will be spent, all of which have been previously approved by the BPU.

The programs include energy efficiency efforts for both residential and commercial customers; an initiative to reduce energy use by large industrial customers; and extensions of various strategies to promote development of new solar systems, among other green initiatives.

The utility said the programs would not increase customers’ bills, instead cutting electric rates by about 16 cents a year and gas rates by 32 cents annually because of the drop in revenues collected from ratepayers for the initiatives.

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