POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the
undersigned director and/or officer of NEW
JERSEY RESOURCES CORPORATION or a subsidiary
thereof, (the "Corporation"), does hereby make,
constitute and appoint Rhonda M. Figueroa,
Mariellen Dugan and Deborah G. Zilai, and each
or any one of them, the undersigned's true and
lawful attorneys-in-fact, with power of sub-
stitution, for the undersigned and in the
undersigned's name, place and stead, to sign
and affix the undersigned's name as such
director and/or officer of said Corporation for
purposes of carrying out the following actions:

(i)	execution for and on behalf of the
undersigned Forms 3, 4 and 5 in accordance with
Section 16 of the Securities and Exchange Act of
1934 (the "Exchange Act") and the rules
(the "Rules") promulgated thereunder by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC");

(ii)	performance of any and all acts for and
on behalf of the undersigned which are necessary
or desirable to complete the execution of any
such Forms 3, 4 or 5 and the filing of such form
with the SEC, the New York Stock Exchange or
such other agencies or persons as may be legally
required;

(iii)	performance of any and all other actions
 related to or in connection with the foregoing
which, in the opinion of such attorneys-in-fact,
may be necessary, appropriate or desirable to
comply with the applicable requirements of
Section 16 of the Exchange Act and Rules.

The undersigned has executed this power of
attorney in order to grant each such
attorney-in-fact full power and authority to
perform any and all acts necessary or
incidental to the performance and execution of
the powers herein expressly granted, with full
power of substitution or revocation, hereby
ratifying and confirming all actions that such
attorney-in-fact, or his or her substitute or
substitutes, shall lawfully do or cause to be done.

The undersigned hereby acknowledges and agrees
that each of the foregoing attorneys-in-fact, in
serving in such capacity at the request of the
undersigned, shall not assume any of the
undersigned's responsibilities or obligations to
comply with Section 16 of the Exchange Act and
the Rules.  This Power of Attorney shall not be
affected by the subsequent disability or legal
incompetence of the undersigned.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed
this power of attorney this 25th day of January 2006.


		  S/George R. Zoffinger
 		  GEORGE R. ZOFFINGER
              New Jersey Resources Corporation