ELEC825 (Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative) has filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in the Superior Court of Mercer County. The lawsuit alleges that the NJBPU deliberately refused to comply with transparency obligations under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
ELEC825 claims that NJBPU violated OPRA when they redacted items in the 2024 Energy Master Plan scope including modeling scope information and energy scenarios being studied. ELEC825 claims that this information is critical for public understanding of energy price trends.
ELEC825 is demanding the unredacted release of key public records related to the 2024 Energy Master Plan scope that was approved on January 16, 2025.
The lawsuit seeks a judicial order preventing the NJBPU from destroying or altering relevant documents or metadata. A court hearing is scheduled for June 3, 2025, when the NJBPU must explain why unredacted documents shouldn’t be produced.
ELEC825 notes that 2,093 days have passed since the first Energy Master Plan’s release, and questions about its cost impact remain unanswered.
ELEC825 has issued the following press release about this issue: (PDF)
The redacted document at the heart of this lawsuit can be found here: (PDF)
