Little Egg Harbor Mayor Blaise Scibetta’s message to a congressional panel and township residents last week was simple: While the world was in a pandemic lockdown four years ago, officials in his town had their eyes on a secondary emergency, a battle with Atlantic City Electric over utility costs.

“We’re not Johnny-come-latelies. We’ve been doing this since 2020. … We’ve been fighting the battle with Atlantic City Electric since 2020,” he said at the Oct. 10 township committee meeting.