PSEG Long Island Bills On The Rise Again

UNIONDALE, N,Y. (CBSNewYork) -- PSEG Long Island customers will soon see another increase on their electric bills.

The hike is the seventh this year, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.

A December bill delivered to Nan Smith's New Hyde Park mailbox, came as a surprise.

"They tell me service will improve and rates will decrease, instead it is the opposite that happened," Smith told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.

Spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said the utility is raising its power supply charge 14 percent, which means about another $10.50 per month for the average customer.

The increase comes at a time when fuel, natural gas and oil prices have been dropping.

Smith wonders if politics has anything to do with sudden price hikes in the power supply portion, which makes up about half the bill.

"They went down prior to the election, then they took a surge right after the election. The price rose unfavorably," she said.

PSEG said it's not politics, it's the price of delivering natural gas in the winter.

"The biggest driver is the price of natural gas," Flagler said. "And although natural gas prices have decreased, the cost of delivering the natural gas in the winter increases, so we have to account for that."

PSEG also acknowledged that a cooler than expected summer and under-collections from prior months are playing a role in the increase.

The power supply charge hit an all time low of 5.9 cents in September, in December it is up 10.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

Rate payers have seen increases in 7 of the past 12 months.

"Our customers are not overcharged. We are not making a profit from the power supply charge. There is a direct pass through from the cost of energy from one month to the next," Flagler said.

PSEG is unique in this way. It bases monthly bills on projections of what power costs will be.

Energy expert Matthre Cordero said that business model gives the impression of manipulation.

"Utilities don't forecast or estimate too well, so they are playing this catch up game because they got surprised," Cordero said.

Customers are able to choose their own licensed energy service provider, but must still pay PSEG delivery charges. Some experts say that could still save you in the end.

Experts added that customers can avoid volatile spikes in bills by choosing balanced billing over 12 months.

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