How to Help Employees With Utility Bills

Why are New Jersey electric bills still high?

Because the 2026 auction held supply prices roughly flat rather than lowering them. An average household still pays between about $137 and $202 a month for electricity alone, depending on the utility, before gas, water, internet and phone.

The BPU certified the state's 25th annual Basic Generation Service auction on February 12, 2026. It said winning prices for all four utilities rose slightly, driven largely by wholesale energy and the PJM capacity market, and that results stayed relatively flat partly because of a cap and floor on capacity payments (NJ BPU, 2026 auction results).

The same release said Executive Order No. 1 directs the BPU to provide Residential Universal Bill Credits to offset the supply increases from June 1, issued no later than July 1, 2026. It gave no amounts. Your employees live on different utilities with different bills, so check the BPU site before you tell anyone what credit to expect.

What public help can employees get with utility bills?

New Jersey runs five energy programs for low-income households that are having difficulty paying heating and cooling bills. Sharing them costs you almost nothing.

The Department of Community Affairs lists Home Energy Assistance (HEA and LIHEAP), the Universal Service Fund, Weatherization Assistance, the Lead-Safe Home Remediation Pilot Program and the Winter Termination Program. People apply online or by calling 1-800-510-3102 (NJ DCA, Energy Assistance Programs). Eligibility is for the state to decide, not you.

Put the link and the phone number in the new-hire packet and the break room. Brief your managers so a worried employee gets a straight answer. Never ask anyone about household income; share the information and let people decide.

The catch is reach. These programs serve households under the income limits, and many hourly employees will not qualify while still feeling every bill.

Can you just give employees cash for their bills?

You can, but it is taxable pay, so the employee keeps less than you spend. The IRS says cash and cash equivalents from an employer are never excludable as a de minimis benefit, no matter how little.

Any fringe benefit is taxable and belongs in the employee's pay unless the law specifically excludes it, and IRS Publication 15-B lists gift cards and the use of a charge or credit card among the cash equivalents that never qualify (IRS Publication 15-B). The only cash exception is occasional meal money or transportation fare so an employee can work overtime (IRS, De minimis fringe benefits). A payment toward an electric bill is neither.

So a one-time bill payment or a monthly utility allowance should be planned as taxable pay, with payroll tax on your side too. This is general information, not tax advice; check any design with your payroll provider or adviser.

How much does 10% back on household bills add up to?

Roughly $40 a month for a household with $400 in monthly bills, or about $480 a year, before limits. Utility, internet and phone bills arrive every month whatever else changes, so the return is steady rather than occasional.

Example (hypothetical): A warehouse picker in Newark on PSE&G pays about $180 a month for electricity, close to the BPU's new average, plus $80 for gas, $40 for water, $60 for internet and $40 for her phone: $400 a month. If each of those billers is an approved merchant and she pays with the card, 10% back is $40 a month, about $480 a year, in our illustration and before limits.

Why put the help on the bill instead of paying it?

Because a bill payment is used up in one month and taxed on the way, while the bills keep coming. Amplify works on the repeat: employees load their own money into an Amplify account, pay their electric, water, internet and phone bills with the Amplify card, and 10% of each qualifying purchase comes back into the same account once it settles, normally within a few business days. There is nothing to claim.

The card covers nine essential categories, and four of them are household bills: gas and electric, water and sewer, internet, and mobile phone. A purchase outside those categories, or at a merchant that is not approved, declines. That is a deliberate choice, and it is what keeps the 10% on the bills your people cannot skip. Every approved merchant is on the map in the Amplify app, so an employee can check her utility before the due date. Loads and cash back carry caps that depend on the membership level you choose, set out in the enrollment package.

For the employee, holding the account means no monthly fee, no annual fee, no interest, no minimum balance and no credit check. Money loaded sits at a partner bank, separate from Amplify's own funds, and leaves only as a purchase at an approved merchant.

For you, the cost is a fixed annual fee for each employee who enrolls; see how the per-employee fee works. There is no monthly allowance to calculate and no bill payment to run through payroll.