Mill Pond in Park Ridge is commonly called "Electric Lake," and the borough's own history traces the name to the pond's original purpose. In 1908 the borough approved bonds for "lighting of streets and public places," then raised the dam to an 18-foot head, flooding about 20 acres to run its own power plant. The turbine was retired in 1928 and the lake has been recreational ever since. The utility the pond once powered is still running.
For anyone comparing Pascack Valley towns, that history shows up on a monthly bill. Homes in Montvale, Woodcliff Lake, or Hillsdale buy electricity from an investor-owned utility, and the state sets the supply price through an annual auction. A home in Park Ridge buys electricity from the borough. The Park Ridge Electric Department describes itself as serving about 3,700 customers over roughly 60 circuit miles, overseen by a six-member Board of Public Works that the Mayor and Council appoint. The same board runs the water department.
So the electric rate in Park Ridge is a line in a municipal ordinance. The council votes on it, it takes effect in January, and it reflects decisions made at Borough Hall about trucks, transformers, and generators. For 2026 it also comes in well below what the state's own comparison shows for neighboring towns.
The Rate Is Written Into Borough Code
Park Ridge's residential electric rates sit in Chapter 55A of the borough code. The current version is Ordinance No. 2025-021, which applies to bills issued from January 1, 2026. It has three parts.
| Residential charge | Effective Jan. 1, 2025 | Effective Jan. 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly customer charge | $6.85 | $7.40 |
| Energy charge per kWh | $0.16093 | $0.17381 |
| Power adjustment per kWh | $0.00685 | $0.00740 |
| Combined per-kWh rate | $0.16778 | $0.18121 |
The 2025 column comes from the previous Ordinance No. 2024-033. The ordinance also lets the Board of Public Works revise the power adjustment from time to time for good cause. Bills arrive every two months, and the ordinance says they are due when issued, with the board able to cut off service if a bill goes 25 days unpaid.
The 2026 increase got a public hearing on December 9, 2025. According to the council minutes, the borough CFO put the impact at "approx. $112 annually" and said Park Ridge "remains 32% cheaper than PSE&G." The CFO also said a "peak-shaving plant project" was underway "to reduce future costs." The CFO's figure checks out on a household using 650 kWh a month. The published charges add up to about $115.91 a month under the 2025 schedule and about $125.19 under the 2026 one. That is about $9.28 more a month, or roughly $111 a year.
Two Calendars That Never Line Up
For a household on PSE&G or Rockland Electric, the supply price moves on New Jersey's Basic Generation Service schedule. The auction runs in February, the Board of Public Utilities certifies the results, and new prices start June 1. Park Ridge changes its rates in January. That leaves the two systems five months apart, and in the last two years they have moved in different directions.
- January 1, 2025. Park Ridge's 2025 schedule takes effect at a combined $0.16778 per kWh.
- June 1, 2025. The BPU's 2025 auction announcement projected the typical 650 kWh PSE&G bill rising 17.24% to $182.71 and the Rockland Electric bill rising 18.18% to $165.64. The BPU blamed rising demand, limits on new generation, and results from the PJM capacity market.
- January 1, 2026. Park Ridge's increase takes effect, adding about $9 a month at 650 kWh.
- June 1, 2026. The BPU's February 12, 2026 announcement projected the 650 kWh PSE&G bill falling 1.8% to $180.23 and Rockland Electric falling 0.7% to $168.93, before credits or offsets. Auction prices rose slightly. The BPU said bills held roughly flat partly because of the PJM price collar, a temporary cap and floor on capacity prices.
Over that stretch, a buyer comparing towns could have seen the gap between Park Ridge and its neighbors widen in one month and narrow in another, even though neither utility's underlying costs had settled. You get a fair comparison only when you price each town's bill as of the same date.
The Same 650 kWh, Priced Three Ways
The BPU publishes its comparison at 650 kWh a month for an average residential account, so that is the fairest yardstick. The Park Ridge figure below adds up only the published tariff items: customer charge, energy charge, and power adjustment. A real bill may include other items. The investor-owned utility figures are the BPU's projections for June 1, 2026, before credits.
| 650 kWh per month | Monthly bill | Gap vs. Park Ridge |
|---|---|---|
| Park Ridge Electric, 2026 tariff | about $125.19 | n/a |
| Rockland Electric, from June 1, 2026 | $168.93 | about $43.74 |
| PSE&G, from June 1, 2026 | $180.23 | about $55.04 |
At that usage, Park Ridge comes in about 30% below the BPU's PSE&G figure and about 26% below Rockland Electric. That's a bit under the CFO's 32% claim but in the same range. Over a year, the PSE&G gap works out to roughly $660 at 650 kWh. A larger house with central air, a pool pump, or an electric vehicle charging in the garage will use more than 650 kWh, and the gap grows with every extra kilowatt-hour.
For a buyer, this belongs in the same column as property taxes and commuting costs. It's a recurring cost tied to the address, and the listing portals don't show it.
State Bill Relief Stops at the Borough Line
The low rate comes with a tradeoff in how relief reaches each town. In January 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed Executive Order No. 1, declaring a state of emergency on utility costs. It directed the BPU to offset supply-rate increases starting with the June 2026 billing cycle. The resulting 2026 Residential Universal Bill Credit order gives one flat $25 credit in August to residential households with an account at one of the four investor-owned utilities: PSE&G, Atlantic City Electric, JCP&L, and Rockland Electric.
Park Ridge's Electric Department isn't on that list, so its residential customers fall outside the credit. A single $25 credit is small next to a monthly gap of $44 to $55. Still, it shows where the money and the politics sit. When Trenton acts on electric prices, it acts through the regulated utilities. In Park Ridge, the main way to influence the electric rate is the council meeting where the rate ordinance gets its hearing.
What Sets Next Year's Number
Since the rate depends on the borough's own costs, the department's capital plans are the best guide to where it could go. Two projects stand out in recent borough records.
The first is the peak-shaving plant the CFO mentioned. At the February 25, 2025 council meeting, Resolution No. 025-094 hired Integrated CHP Systems Corp. of Princeton, for up to $35,000, to develop and submit the air permit for a "6 MW Tier-4 diesel peakplant." The same agenda listed Jinks Engineering for up to $15,000 of electrical engineering work on integrating the diesel generator. Generator-integration services came up again on the January 27, 2026 agenda. These records cover permitting and engineering. They don't give a location, a construction budget, or a completion date. For context, the borough's history page puts the system's peak demand at around 22 MW, so a 6 MW unit would be a sizable resource for a utility of this scale.
The second is ordinary infrastructure. Ordinance No. 2026-024 passed first reading on June 23, 2026. It is a $965,000 electric utility bond: $406,000 for a bucket truck, $254,000 for meters and transformers serving the Landmark Development, and $305,000 for engineering to replace a transformer at the Mill Road Substation. Park Ridge customers carry these costs directly. A PSE&G customer pays for comparable work too, but through a statewide rate case covering millions of accounts.
Any 2027 change would go through the same steps as the 2026 one: an ordinance amending Chapter 55A, a public hearing, and a council vote, with the result published as a public notice on the borough's site.
Quick Answers
Do Park Ridge homes get PSE&G service for electricity? No. The borough cut ties with Rockland Electric in 1978 and built its own substation. It buys wholesale power and delivers it over its own lines.
How often do bills come? Every two months, under the current ordinance.
Does the August 2026 state bill credit apply in Park Ridge? The BPU order limits the credit to residential accounts at the four investor-owned utilities, and the Park Ridge Electric Department is not one of them.
Who oversees the utility? The six-member Board of Public Works, appointed by the Mayor and Council. Rate changes still need a council ordinance.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rates and credits change, so check the figures for your own home with the borough's Electric Department or your utility.
If you're weighing Park Ridge against a neighboring town, the electric bill is one of the carrying costs to put next to the purchase price. Ana Moniz can help you compare those costs across the Pascack Valley before you make an offer. Schedule a Market Consultation.
