Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) announced today that it will
extend its February bill credit for residential gas customers next
month, saving customers another $40 on their bills for March usage.
The current bill credit of 25 cents per therm, including taxes, will
keep the gas supply rate reduced from approximately 54 cents to
approximately 29 cents per therm for usage in March. With the bill
credit factored in, a typical residential heating customer using 160
therms in March would see a reduction in their one-month bill from
$164.97 to $124.97 for a savings of $40 in their supply charges.
Depending on meter reading schedules, many customers will see some of
the reduction in March with the remainder in their April bills. This
savings is in addition to the $40 savings the same typical residential
customers received through the company’s February bill credit for their
February usage.
“This is the third time we have provided a substantial credit for
residential gas customers this winter heating season,” said Jorge
Cardenas, PSE&G vice president of asset management and centralized
services. “Since last November, residential gas customers have saved
about $133 on their gas usage – and will save another $40 next month.”
He noted that the bill credits are on top of nine bill decreases that
have saved the typical residential customer about $674 – or 39 percent
-- in supply costs since January 2009.
Cardenas said that PSEG has leveraged its portfolio of gas pipeline
transportation and storage agreements to lower gas costs for residential
customers. “Although current market prices for gas have increased, we
have purchased gas from the nearby Marcellus Shale Formation during the
past several months at rates that are below prevailing market prices due
to the surplus of supply in the region,” he said. “These lower cost
supplies have provided a benefit to residential customers. We are
required to pass along these savings to our customers and are
particularly happy to do so at a time when they are striving to keep
winter heating bills affordable.”
With cold temperatures expected to return next week, the utility offers
some steps customers can take to stay warm and reduce their costs even
further.
-- Check for sufficient water levels in the sight glass for hot water
and steam heating systems to ensure maximum efficiency. Clean or replace
the furnace filter on hot air heating systems.
-- Lower your thermostat by just one degree, which may reduce your
heating bill by up to 3 percent. Save even more by lowering your
thermostat 2 degrees during the day and 5 to 10 degrees at bedtime if
health conditions permit.
-- Close dampers in fireplaces you don’t use.
-- Purchase and wrap an insulation blanket around the tank of your hot
water heater. Wrap the outlet pipe with inexpensive flexible insulating
tubing to reduce the time it takes for hot water to reach your shower.
Set your hot water heater to no more than 120 degrees.
-- Move furniture and drapes away from heating registers, radiators, and
baseboard element covers. Open any register or baseboard dampers.
-- Cover window air conditioners to reduce drafts. Install insulated or
lined drapes on your windows.
-- Use weather stripping or one-sided sticky tape to seal up cracks and
prevent drafts in windows and doorframes. Caulk smaller gaps. Beneath
doors, install draft guards available at hardware stores.
-- Use a shrink film insulation kit on really drafty windows or make one
yourself from plastic sheeting and double-faced tape.
-- Seal wall switches and electrical outlets with small foam gaskets
available at home improvement centers and hardware stores. Remove the
cover plate, insert the gasket, and screw the cover plate back in place.
-- If you have a door leading outside from your basement, hang a
full-size sheet of plastic from the door frame to keep heat from
escaping. Seal windows in the basement with plastic to create a barrier
against the cold. (Make sure you allow enough air supply to feed your
fuel-burning appliances safely.)
-- Keep your garage door closed if the garage is attached to the house.
-- If your budget permits, install (or have installed) a programmable
thermostat that you can set to automatically lower room temperatures
when rooms are not in use and also at bedtime if health conditions
permit.
-- Visit PSE&G’s Home Energy Toolkit at --
www.pseg.com/toolkit.
You can calculate the energy efficiency of your home and find out how to
save energy and money on appliances and heating systems.
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is New Jersey’s
oldest and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serving
nearly three-quarters of the state’s population. PSE&G is the winner of
the ReliabilityOne Award for superior electric system reliability. PSE&G
is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG)
(NYSE:PEG), a diversified energy company (www.pseg.com).
