Guest Oped: We need an energy plan that leaves no one behind

By Reverend Eric Dobson, For The Trentonian

On the coldest nights of winter, when energy prices spike and bills double, some families turn to space heaters and pile on blankets—not because they want to, but because they have no other choice. These aren’t isolated anecdotes. They’re warning signs of a system under stress.

City Council President Yazminelly Gonzalez recently described what many New Jerseyans know firsthand: energy costs are pushing families to the edge. Seniors are rationing heat. Parents are skipping meals. Small businesses are cutting hours just to keep the lights on. These struggles aren’t rare—they’re symptoms of policies that aren’t meeting people where they are.

And yet, come June, we’re bracing for another utility rate hike. Another blow to households already stretched thin. This isn’t just about economics—it’s about policy design. Are we building systems that serve the majority, or just the well-positioned few?

Yes, lawmakers are holding hearings. That’s a start. But a hearing without a plan is like a blueprint without materials. What we need now is a strategy—not just discussion. A strategy that recognizes that most households can’t afford a $20,000 heat pump or a full home retrofit, and that the cost of progress can’t be quietly shifted onto the backs of working people.

Let me be clear: I’m not an energy expert. I don’t have all the technical answers. But I’ve spent years in communities that are first to feel the effects when policy overlooks reality. I speak not as a technician, but as someone who sees the consequences up close—when affordability is treated as optional rather than essential.

Dr. Robert D. Bullard, often called the father of environmental justice, reminds us:

“Environmental justice embraces the principle that all communities are entitled to equal protection of environmental, energy, health, employment, education, housing, transportation, civil, and human rights.”That includes the right to reliable, affordable energy.

More than 50 years ago, Marvin Gaye asked the same questions we’re asking now. In “What’s Going On” and “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),” he gave voice to the tension between progress and neglect, and the cost of looking away. His lyrics—“Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east”—weren’t just poetry. They were warning signs, just like the stories we’re seeing today. We still haven’t answered his question: what’s going on?

We need to embed that awareness into our energy plans. Affordability isn’t a side issue—it’s infrastructure. That means fairer pricing models, stronger assistance programs, and protections that keep people connected when volatility hits.

At the same time, we must avoid electrifying inequality. If the clean energy shift leaves out renters, seniors, and low-income families, then it’s not a transition—it’s a reshuffling. Support for upgrades, tenant protections, and direct investment in older, underserved communities are essential if we want widespread participation.

We also can’t afford to dismiss the role of transitional tools. Natural gas, hydrogen, and carbon capture aren’t the final destination, but they are bridges. Phasing them out too quickly risks price spikes and instability, especially for those already on the margins. We need to build the cleaner grid of the future without breaking the systems people rely on today.

And let’s not underestimate local solutions. Microgrids, community solar, and energy co-ops allow neighborhoods to build resilience from the ground up. These aren’t just technical fixes—they’re trust-building tools. When people feel ownership of their energy systems, they’re more likely to support and sustain them.

Policy must be grounded in reality, not just spreadsheets. Every plan should be tested against a simple question: who benefits, and who bears the cost? Ignoring that tradeoff doesn’t just hurt vulnerable communities—it undermines the whole system.

New Jersey’s climate goals are ambitious, and that’s a good thing. But ambition without equity creates resistance. The push to electrify demands grid upgrades and lifestyle shifts that many simply can’t afford. Without support, we risk building a two-speed energy future—one for early adopters and another for everyone else.

Updating the state’s Energy Master Plan isn’t about slowing down. It’s about designing smarter. It’s a chance to make the path wider, so more people can walk it—not just those who are already out front.

This isn’t about idealism. It’s about building an energy system that works in practice, not just in theory. One that’s more stable, more inclusive, and more likely to last.