A 2127 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Prohibits certain public utilities from charging residents of multi-unit dwellings meter-reading fees in certain circumstances.

This bill (A2127) prohibits electric and gas public utilities in New Jersey from charging residential tenants in multi-unit dwellings (like apartments) a meter-reading fee that exceeds the actual cost of their electricity or gas usage for a billing cycle. It specifically targets fees charged to customers who have opted out of smart meter installation and require manual meter readings. The law sets a clear cap: utilities cannot charge more for manual readings than the customer’s regular utility usage cost. This applies directly to renters in shared housing who choose manual metering, ensuring fees align with actual consumption rather than arbitrary charges.

Issues: ✓ Energy ✓ Housing

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

General Assembly Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action May 4, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 3 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill moved from a Technical Review status back to an Introduced status. The changes are procedural: the co-sponsor line was removed, the status notation was updated, and a standard STATEMENT section was added at the end explaining the bill's purpose in plain language. No substantive policy changes were made.

TECHNICAL

Bill status changed from 'As reported by the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel', indicating the bill returned to its introduction stage.

Co-sponsor line for Assemblywoman Speight was removed from the bill header.

A STATEMENT section was added at the end of the bill providing a plain-language summary of what the bill prohibits (meter-reading fees exceeding usage costs for residential customers in multi-unit dwellings who opted out of smart meters). This is standard formatting for introduced bills.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the General Assembly by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 4, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by the Assembly (72-0-0)

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee

lower

3 primary · 1 co-sponsor