New Jersey Natural Gas
NEW JERSEY NATURAL GAS FILES BGSS, WNC AND SBC ADJUSTMENTS WITH THE BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
10/25/2006 - For Immediate ReleaseUnder the filing, NJNG will implement a decrease to its Periodic BGSS for residential and small commercial customers effective November 1, 2006. The current Periodic BGSS price will be reduced from $1.1601 per therm to $1.0942 per therm on an after-tax basis. Currently, a typical customer using 100 therms a month would pay $158.11. With the change, they would pay $151.84, a savings of $6.27 or 4 percent. NJNG is able to take this action now due to reduced demand charges, lower than expected pipeline fuel costs and the recent lower wholesale natural gas prices.
A portion of this decrease will offset a 0.9 percent increase to the Universal Service Fund (USF) statewide rate effective November 1, approved by the BPU on October 23, 2006. The Universal Service Fund was established by the BPU to help low income households pay for electric and natural gas service.
NJNG also filed a request to increase its Weather Normalization Clause (WNC) rate and its SBC effective January 1, 2007 on a provisional basis. The change will enable the utility to recover its weather-related deficits from October 2005 through May 2006, and meet BPU-mandated funding contributions for the state’s Clean Energy Program. The combined proposed charges would result in a 1.6 percent increase upon BPU approval.
Overall, the cumulative effect to customers will be a 3.1 percent BGSS decrease effective for November and December. If the BPU approves NJNG’s request to adjust the WNC and SBC rates as proposed, the net decrease would be approximately 1.5 percent effective January 1, 2007.
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 468,000 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
Beacon Technologies, Inc.
