AEC: Utility Charges Ratepayers Extra Because the Weather Was Warm

December 2015 was unusually warm on New York’s Long Island, so a local natural gas utility is imposing a surcharge on customers to help make up for a revenue shortfall caused by reduced energy sales, according to a News 12 Long Island article.

The station reported that the utility PSEG will charge customers a “revenue decoupling adjustment,” which will raise residential bills $1.69 on average in March.

Public advocate Sheldon Sackstein says Long Islanders will keep seeing increases unless the local utility is reorganized. “The ratepayers need to now recognize that they now have to step forward. They have to call their legislators,” he told News 12.

PSEG Long Island did not meet revenue goals from April to December in 2015 due to lower energy usage, according to the News 12 article. The utility came up $18 million short of expectations.

To read more about this story, and for a link to the original News 12 Long Island Story, visit American Energy Coalition.org.