LIPA Bills to Drop 4% Through a Power Supply Charge Reduction of 7.6%
Reduction Effective October 16th
LIPA Seeks to Hold Reduction Through 2007
Uniondale, NY – October 4, 2006 – Long Island Power Authority (LIPA)
Chairman, Richard M. Kessel, today announced that starting October 16th LIPA’s
electric bills would drop by 4% as a result of a 7.6% reduction in its Power
Supply Charge.
For a typical residential customer using 775 kilowatt hours (kWh) of
electricity per month, the bill reduction will produce a monthly savings of
$6.20 and total savings of $93 over the next 15 months through the end of 2007.
A commercial customer using 8,800 kWh per month could see a savings of about $70
per month or $1,050 over 15 months.
Mr. Kessel said that the reduction in LIPA’s bills, by lowering its Power
Supply Charge, is made possible by recent drops in the costs for fuel and
purchased power, and the prospect that these costs will remain lower going
forward.
“I’m extremely pleased that we can lower our bills through a reduction in the
Power Supply Charge,” said Mr. Kessel. “The historic increases in the cost of
oil and natural gas in recent years have forced LIPA to pass along some of those
increases to customers. With the recent reductions in those costs, LIPA’s costs
for fuel and purchased power are reduced. In turn, we can pass along these
savings to our residential and commercial customers.”
Mr. Kessel noted that LIPA did not increase any of its rates and charges
during 2006 and actually reduced them by 1%. He added that the goal is to
maintain the bill and power supply reduction through 2007, and if oil and gas
prices continue to drop LIPA would reassess bills again early next year for
possible further reductions.
“It’s important for customers to understand that LIPA does not control the
oil and natural gas markets. LIPA merely passes on increases or decreases
depending upon the world-wide market price of oil and natural gas,” said Mr.
Kessel. “We certainly hope that going forward the reduction in the Power Supply
Charge will help offset some of the higher usage customers experienced this
summer as a result of the July and August heat waves.”
Earlier this year, LIPA provided its customers with a new billing statement
configuration that segregated the charges for delivering electricity to
customers and those for the commodity. LIPA’s Delivery & System Charges cover
costs associated with operating and maintaining LIPA’s electric Transmission and
Distribution System. The Power Supply Charges cover costs associated with the
price of oil, natural gas and purchased power.
While LIPA is lowering its Power Supply Charge by 7.6%, its Delivery & System
Charge will remain unchanged.
Customers who have any questions about their bills should call LIPA’s
Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-490-0025.
LIPA’s Web site, www.lipower.org, has a wealth of information that can help
customers save on their electricity costs by utilizing some easy-to-follow
energy efficiency recommendations. |
