Power bills expected to soar
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- July
- 11
Monthly electric bills could climb 21 percent for Westchester County residents this summer in response to soaring costs to produce power from oil and natural gas.
Utility Consolidated Edison Inc. estimated that a typical Westchester residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours could face a monthly bill of $125.50 this summer, up from $103.48 a year ago. Business customers in Westchester and New York City could see their summer electric bills climb as much as 25 percent.The higher utility costs could be an added burden for households already struggling with rising food and energy prices, including gasoline prices over $4 a gallon.
Con Edison, which serves 3.2 million customers in New York City and Westchester, said higher oil and natural gas are to blame.
“Fuel prices have gone up exponentially as anyone who has passed a gas station knows,†said Chris Olert, a spokesman for Con Edison.
Producing electricity from natural gas has gotten more expensive with natural gas prices up 39 percent this year. That can have a significant impact on Con Edison and its customers because about 43 percent of the power used in its service territory is generated from natural gas. Oil-generated power, which accounts for about 6 percent of electricity consumed in the region, also is more expensive with petroleum prices soaring to new records.
Con Edison buys most of that electricity from other suppliers and distributes it to local customers.
“Our objective is to get the best deal we can for customers,†Olert said.
The higher bills also include a rate increase of 4.7 percent approved by the state Public Service Commission in March.
Olert suggested that customers turn to conservation to keep their utility costs manageable. Con Edison offers a list of energy saving tips at www.coned.com/customercentral/energysavings.asp
“If you use less, you pay less,†Olert said.
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 5:22 pm by Jay Loomis.
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