New Jersey Natural Gas Announces Rate Decrease

WALL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) announced today it will reduce its Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS) rates for residential and small commercial customers effective October 1, 2014. The typical residential heating customers using 100 therms a month will see their bill decrease from $109.80 to $104.28, a savings of $5.52, or 5 percent. On an annual basis, residential heating customers using 1,000 therms a year will see their bill decrease from $1,114.50 to $1,059.30, a savings of $55.20.

This savings is in addition to NJNG's previously proposed 4.3 percent decrease related to its Conservation Incentive Program (CIP) submitted in its annual BGSS and CIP filing to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in June 2014, and pending approval. Combined with today's BGSS reduction, the typical residential heating customers using 100 therms a month will see their bill decrease to $99.56, a savings of $10.24, or 9.3 percent. On an annual basis, residential heating customers using 1,000 therms a year will see their bill decrease to $1,012.10, a savings of $102.40.

“Thanks to the dedication and talent of our exceptional team of employees, we are able to take advantage of our natural gas purchasing strategies and lower wholesale natural gas costs to provide additional savings for NJNG's customers,” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Natural Gas. “As we prepare for the coming heating season, today's filing demonstrates our ongoing commitment to identify savings for our customers.”

NJNG's BGSS filing represents the commodity charge passed through to customers based on the company's cost to acquire natural gas. Any change in the BGSS does not represent a change in profits to the company.

NJNG's CIP is designed to promote conservation and energy-efficiency practices, while normalizing year-to-year fluctuations from changing weather and usage patterns on both the company's financial margins and customers' bills. The proposed reduction to the CIP rate reflects the colder-than-normal weather experienced last winter. Adjustments to the CIP are included in NJNG's delivery rate, which represents the cost of delivering natural gas service to homes and businesses. Since its inception in 2006, CIP has helped NJNG customers realize cost savings of $305 million by reducing their usage.

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources NJR is a Fortune 1000 company that provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution and asset management. With annual revenues in excess of $3 billion, NJR is comprised of five primary businesses:

• New Jersey Natural Gas is NJR's principal subsidiary that operates and maintains 7,000 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve over half a million customers in New Jersey's Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris and Middlesex counties.
• NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across North America.
• NJR Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar and onshore wind projects with a total capacity in excess of 85 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.
• NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its equity ownership in a natural gas storage facility and a transportation pipeline, both of which are Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC-regulated investments.
• NJR Home Services provides heating, central air conditioning, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes and businesses throughout New Jersey and serves approximately 119,000 service contract customers.

NJR and its more than 900 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve^® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project^® and The Sunlight Advantage^®.

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