Requires electric service providers to integrate energy storage systems into long-term planning process.

New Jersey's A 255, the "Energy Storage System Procurement Act," requires electric utilities, power suppliers, and basic generation providers (collectively "electric service providers") to integrate energy storage systems into their long-term grid planning. The bill directs the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to establish rules within 180 days for procuring storage systems that improve grid reliability, reduce peak-demand generation needs, and defer infrastructure investments. It allows providers to submit early applications for systems under 15 megawatts before the rules are finalized and mandates that planning include cost-benefit analyses and safety safeguards for grid integration. The law explicitly preserves existing approved storage projects and aims to standardize how utilities evaluate storage as part of grid planning.