The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has rejected a request by a trade group representing heating, cooling, and appliance repair and installation vendors to direct Public Service Electric and Gas Co. to discontinue air conditioning repair and installation services and to require the utility to use past profits from the service to pay for alleged damages to competitors.
According to the trade group, Coalition for Fair Competition, PSE&G had been offering the air conditioner repair service without approval of the board and had used its position as a supplier of energy services (em along with allegedly deceptive and misleading advertising (em to injure competing contractors.
No Jurisdiction. In rejecting the request, the board said that it lacked authority under state law to consider the allegations of anticompetitive behavior or to mandate the specific remedies requested by the contractors.