The Trenton Times:

The state is asking an independent expert to examine how New Jersey’s four utilities buy power for their customers to ensure ratepayers are not paying prices that are too high.

The action by the state Board of Public Utilities yesterday aims to resolve those concerns before next February, when the electric utilities purchase the power they need for customers at an annual online auction. The prices paid this past year were 55 percent higher than the previous year, and during the past two years have gone up 90 percent.