TRENTON, N.J. Household electric bills will rise by at least 12 percent throughout the state starting in June, based on results of the annual auction to supply power conducted by New Jersey regulators. The results were approved Thursday by the state Board of Public Utilities, which blamed increased costs in world energy markets that were made worse by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “We’ve kept prices in New Jersey as low as possible,” BPU president Jeanne M. Fox said. “Unfortunately the problem of fossil fuel dependence is an international one that our federal government has failed to address.” Each auction provides power for one-third of the state’s needs for each of the next three years. Since prior auctions accounted for the remainder, the BPU could now determine the average impact on the bill for customers of each utility: Atlantic Electric: the average monthly bill of $100.60 will rise 12.54 percent to $113.22. Jersey Central Power and Light: the average monthly bill of $95.82 will rise 12.4 percent to $107.70. Public Service Electric and Gas: the average monthly bill of $72.05 will rise 13.7 percent to $81.96. Rockland Electric: the average monthly bill of $112.59 will rise 12 percent to $126.07. The state’s ratepayer advocate, Seema M. Singh, said the results were disappointing, but not surprising. She noted that many electric plants are powered by natural gas, whose cost has risen substantially. An advocate at the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, Suzanne Leta, said the auction results illustrate why the BPU should reject the proposed acquisition of Newark-based Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., parent company of PSEandG, by Exelon Corp. of Chicago. The $16 billion deal would create the nation’s largest electric and gas utility. The takeover “will have a severe impact on the viability of the auction because one supplier will dominate the market, and as a result, consumers could see their rates increase further,” Leta said. Ev Liebman, program director of New Jersey Citizen Action, said the auction produced an average price of 10.452 cents per kilowatt-hour, up 55 percent from 6.7345 cents last year. The boost is “unconscionable and raises serious concerns of price gouging,” Liebman said. Citizen Action also opposes the Exelon acquisition.