The New York State Public Service Commission has announced that it expects the State’s utilities will have adequate supplies of natural gas and electricity on hand to meet the demands of residential and commercial customers in New York State this winter.
Meanwhile, due to a softening in global commodity costs of natural gas, heating oil, and propane prices are expected to be lower this winter, a welcome relief for residential and commercial energy customers.
Commission Chair Rory Christian said in statement, “The utilities have hedged approximately 70 percent of their estimated statewide full service electric residential energy needs to mitigate any electric market price swings this winter.”
This winter’s gas bills are expected to be lower than last year due to lower gas commodity prices. Electric supply bills are expected to be slightly higher than last year due to increased capacity costs. On average, a residential electric customer using 600 kWh per month is expected to pay about $62 per month for supply this winter, up 3 percent from the same period a year ago, but the actual amount varies by utility.
Meanwhile, the average residential customer using 708 therms of natural gas can expect to pay an estimated $193 per month during the winter heating season (November through March), down 4% from the same period a year ago, but note that the actual amount will vary widely by region due to the weather and usage.
A colder-than-normal winter will cause usage and bills to increase.
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