New Jersey Natural Gas
NEW JERSEY NATURAL GAS ANNOUNCES PRICES TO REMAIN STABLE GOING INTO NEXT WINTER’S HEATING SEASON
06/01/2007 - For Immediate Release“Whenever we can hold the line on prices that is good news for our customers.” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of NJNG. “Utilizing our team’s expertise, including management of our storage assets and hedging tools, we have already secured price protection for 75 percent of the supplies needed to serve our customers going into the winter heating season. We remain committed to meeting our customers’ energy needs and their expectations for safe, reliable service.”
Upon the BPU’s approval of pending adjustments to the Societal Benefits Charge and the Weather Normalization Clause (WNC) from previous cases, NJNG will implement a BGSS decrease of 3.6 percent. The net effect of these filings will be an overall reduction of 0.5 percent in the average customer’s bill. For a customer using 100 therms a month, that is a reduction of $0.76 a month, or $9.12 a year. In the BGSS filing made today, NJNG requested that this lower rate remain in effect for the upcoming annual period.
NJNG also filed a petition to implement its initial Conservation Incentive Program (CIP) recovery rate as a component of the delivery charge and reduce its WNC rate effective October 1, 2007. The decrease in the WNC rate will offset the CIP rate. Overall, customers will see a 0.3 percent saving in their total heating bill. That is a reduction of $0.43 a month, or $5.16 annually, for a customer using 100 therms a month.
The CIP is a three-year pilot program approved by the BPU to encourage customer conservation and stabilize NJNG’s margins that are impacted by changing weather and usage patterns. For the upcoming year, the company has sought approval to implement a rate to recover $7.3 million associated with warmer-than-normal weather and $6 million from lower customer usage. Through the CIP, customers have already realized annual BGSS savings of $10.6 million in fixed cost reductions which will continue this year as well. Additionally, the lower level of gas usage through April 2007 represents an estimated $29 million in commodity cost savings achieved by customers.
“The CIP enables customers to realize fixed and commodity BGSS savings, while NJNG can recover costs incurred to safely maintain and effectively operate our system,” Downes said. “These results show that the CIP is working to help our customers, strengthen our company and enhance our quality of life.”
Pursuant to the BPU’s Basic Gas Supply Service Order, NJNG may seek to adjust the BGSS price up to a maximum of 5 percent on December 1, 2007 and February 1, 2008. If such an increase is required, NJNG must provide notice to the BPU and the Department of the Public Advocate, Division of Rate Counsel. Additionally, NJNG may decrease its BGSS price at any time.
New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is the principal subsidiary of New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR), a Fortune 1000 company and a member of the Forbes Platinum 400. NJNG is one of the fastest-growing local distribution companies in the United States, serving more than 476,000 customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Morris counties. This service area’s demographics and quality of life contribute greatly to NJNG’s growth. NJNG’s progress is a tribute to the dedicated employees who have shared their expertise and focus on quality through more than 50 years of serving customers and the community to make the company a leader in the competitive energy marketplace. For more information, visit NJNG’s Web site at njliving.com.
Contact:
Michael Kinney, Media
732-938-1031
Dennis Puma, Investors
732-938-1229
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