EXHIBIT 31.2

                  CERTIFICATION OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
                             PURSUANT TO SECTION 302
                        OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Glenn C. Lockwood, certify that:

1)    I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of New Jersey Resources
      Corporation;

2)    Based on my knowledge, this Quarterly Report does not contain any untrue
      statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
      make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
      statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
      this Quarterly Report;

3)    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
      information included in this Quarterly Report, fairly present in all
      material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
      flows of the Registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
      Quarterly Report;

4)    The Registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
      establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
      defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal
      control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
      13a-f15(f) and 15d-15(f) for the Registrant and have:

      a.)   designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
            disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
            supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
            Registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
            to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
            period in which this Quarterly Report is being prepared;

      b.)   designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused
            such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
            our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
            reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
            statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
            accepted accounting principles;

      c.)   evaluated the effectiveness of the Registrant's disclosure controls
            and procedures and presented in this Quarterly Report our
            conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
            procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly
            based on such evaluation;

      d.)   disclosed in this report any change in the Registrant's internal
            control over financial reporting that occurred during the
            Registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially
            affected, or is reasonably likely to adversely affect, the
            Registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5)    The Registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on
      our most recent evaluation, to the Registrant's auditors and the audit
      committee of Registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
      equivalent functions):

      a.)   all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
            control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
            adversely affect the Registrant's ability to record, process,
            summarize and report financial information; and

      b.)   any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
            other employees who have a significant role in the Registrant's
            internal control over financial reporting.

Date: May 4, 2006                   By: /s/ Glenn C. Lockwood_
                                        --------------------------
                                       Glenn C. Lockwood
                                       Senior Vice President,
                                       Chief Financial Officer