New Jersey Natural Gas Expects ~$63.7M In Credits To Customers In Coming Winter Season

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) today submitted a series of filings, including its annual Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS) and Conservation Incentive Program (CIP) filing, to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), and announced it will provide a bill credit to residential and small commercial customers for the 2015-2016 winter heating season. The full amount of the bill credit will be determined in the fall of 2015, but NJNG currently estimates a reduction of $63.7 million for these customers during the months of November 2015 through February 2016. Although the credit will vary, based upon individual usage and weather patterns over the four months, the typical residential heating customers using 1,000 therms per year could realize a savings of approximately $141, or 14.3 percent, on their total bill on an annual basis. "Today's filings represent good news for our customers," said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Natural Gas. "Thanks to the dedication and talent of our exceptional team of employees, this winter, NJNG will be providing savings to our customers at a time when heating costs are typically at their highest." With its BGSS filing, NJNG is seeking to maintain the existing rate for residential and small commercial customers. BGSS represents the commodity charge passed through to customers based on the company's cost to acquire natural gas. This portion accounts for approximately 49 percent of a customer's bill. Since it only represents the actual costs of the commodity, any change in the BGSS does not represent a change in profits for the company. The filing also includes an adjustment to NJNG's CIP rates. Additionally, another filing submitted to the BPU includes recovery of capital investment costs associated with NJNG's New Jersey Reinvestment in System Enhancement (NJ RISE) program. The CIP is designed to promote conservation and energy-efficiency practices, while normalizing year-to-year fluctuations from changing weather and usage patterns on both NJNG's financial margins and customers' bills. NJ RISE is designed to enhance the resiliency of NJNG's natural gas distribution and transmission systems. The net effect of the rates proposed in these filings is a 0.11 percent increase, or $1.10 annually, for the typical residential heating customer using 1,000 therms a year. The CIP and NJ RISE changes require BPU approval. If approved, the CIP rates would go into effect October 1, 2015, and the NJ RISE rates would go into effect November 1, 2015. When these changes are combined with NJNG's recent 3.3 percent decrease to its Societal Benefits Charge (SBC) rate approved by the BPU in May 2015, the typical residential heating customer will realize a total savings of $32, or a reduction of 3.15 percent, annually. The SBC is a monthly charge included in the delivery rate on utility bills and is state-mandated to provide funding for programs related to remediation, energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy assistance. The decrease reflects a change to the charges for remediation and New Jersey's Clean Energy Program™.