Requires BPU to determine and consider lowest reasonable return on equity before approving electric, gas, and water public utility base rate cases.

This bill requires New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to determine and consider the lowest reasonable return on equity (ROE) when reviewing rate increase requests from electric, gas, and water utility companies. It directly affects utility companies seeking rate hikes and the BPU, which must now actively seek the minimum reasonable ROE as a factor in its approval decisions. The key mechanism mandates the BPU to develop or adopt specific analytic models reflecting state, federal, and industry standards to assess this lowest reasonable ROE. This change would shift the BPU's process from evaluating proposed ROEs to proactively identifying the lowest acceptable return for rate cases, impacting how utility rate increases are approved.