Electric bills go up again

May 2 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Larry Rulison Times Union, Albany, N.Y.

 

Spring has finally arrived, but electric bills won't reflect that. National Grid customers in the Capital Region can expect a $30 jump this month, sending the average power bill more than $100.

The increase -- the fifth in the past six months -- comes as many customers were starting to get some relief.

Last month, the average National Grid residential electric bill dropped by nearly 50 percent to $76, based on 600 kilowatt hours of usage.

But this month, that same customer can expect his bill to jump to $102.

This should be the last higher-than-expected electric bill for a while -- at least until July, when people crank up their air conditioners.

"Electricity costs seem to be decreasing, but whether or not high electric costs go down will depend on temperature," National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said. "If temperatures moderate as they usually do going into the summer months, we believe the cost of electricity will decrease."

This month's jump has more to do with March than it does with May. Each month, National Grid forecasts where it believes wholesale electric prices will go.

The numbers, which are based in part on historic weather data, are usually pretty close. But temperatures this winter were so out of whack that predictions have been tricky. A cold day here or there normally won't impact winter electricity prices that much. But this year, it was so cold for so long that supply issues developed with natural gas, the most popular fuel for power plants in the state, sending wholesale electricity costs soaring.

Each National Grid bill contains what's known as the electric supply reconciliation mechanism, or ESRM, that accounts for the difference between what you paid for your electric supply two months prior compared to that month's forecast. In the case of May's bills, the ESRM will cover what you paid in March.

Although March wasn't nearly as cold as January and February, March's average temperature was 7 percent lower than expected, according to data from the National Weather Service.

"Our forecast is based on a 30-year weather history, and March was much colder than usual," Stella said.

High electricity prices have confounded National Grid because the company doesn't profit from higher wholesale prices. The company makes money "delivering" the power to homes, and those delivery rates were lowered in 2013 as regulators sought to ease the burden the recession had placed on consumers in recent years.

Ken Daly, president of National Grid's New York operations, said earlier this week that higher electricity bills have been difficult for customers to handle, especially those on tight budgets, which can lead to higher delinquencies and late payments.

"It's something that we're watching very closely," Daly said.

To mitigate the impact, National Grid gave customers a onetime credit in February that averaged $30, and plans to offer $4.2 million to low-income customers in the coming months to help them pay their bills.

lrulison@timesunion.com, 518-454-5504, @larryrulison

www.timesunion.com

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