The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
National Grid predicts favorable winter
SCHENECTADY>> Officials with National Grid Tuesday said customers can expect natural gas bills for this year’s winter season to be lower than they’ve seen in recent typical upstate winters with only slight increases to their electric bills.
The favorable estimates came at a press conference held at the company’s Schenectady training facility where company officials discussed residential cost estimates and energy saving tips.
National Grid is an electricity and natural gas delivery company that connects nearly 7 million customers to energy sources through its networks in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The company delivers energy to homeowners based on the homeowner’s choice of suppliers.
Laurie Poltynski, the company’s regional executive for its eastern division, said Tuesday residential natural gas bills should be lower than those seen in a typical upstate winter thanks to a predicted small decrease in wholesale supply prices and continued flat delivery prices.
“Comparing typical uses, the average homeowner used 713 therms for the five month winter season between November and March,” she said. “Current forecasts call for upstate NewYorkNational Grid natural gas customers seeing an overall bill decrease of about $12 compared to what they wouldhavepaid last year for the same amount of natural gas.”
The 2016-2017 estimate predicts the lowest natural gas bills in a decade, she said.
“Winter bills are expected to be 49 percent lower than they were in the 2004-2005 winter after factoring in inflation,” Poltynski said.
With regard to residential electricity bills Poltynski said typical upstate customers use 600 kilowatt-hours a month and should pay about $10 more than they would havepaidfor last year’s winter heating season.
The 2016-2017 estimates are based on an average use of 713 therms per household. National Grid figures noted that last winter’s mild temperatures reduced average natural gas usage to 610 therms.
“The supply side of a residential customer’s electricity bill for the coming winter is expected to be only slightly higher than last year,” she said, “but well be- low the cold winter we had in 2014-2015. Based on 600 kilowatt-hours of usage, total monthly residential bills will be about $2 per month more than last winter. That’s about $8 lower than monthly bills were two years ago.”
Assuming equal usage, Poltynski said overall energy bills for most consumers have trended down over the last decade. After factoring in inflation, company figures showed that total residential natural gas bills are 49 percent lower than they were in 2004-2005 due to a reduction in supply prices and National Grid’s nearly flat delivery prices.
Poltynski added that the company recently received approval to hold energy delivery prices at current levels through March 2018.
Joining Poltynski at the press conference were Renee Devine, National Grid’s upstate New York energy efficiency manager and Ron Metzger, a company customer service meter representative.
Devine’s remarks centered on achieving energy savings, partnerships and programs offered by the company, and simple steps that would help residents save money and stay safe in the winter.
Citing one statistic, she noted that National Grid customers who have taken part in the company’s home energy report program the past few years have saved more than 145 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.
“That’s equivalent to taking 21,000 cars off the road in one year,” Devine said.
She suggested customers visit the company’s “Ways to Save” page on its Web site to learn about company programs, useful tips, and why saving energy is important.
Metzger gave a demonstration of how, why, and when homeowners should change their furnace filters. He also demonstrated and discussed how to lower or raise the water temperature on a residential hot water heater.
Pointing to a small, rectangular, raised box on a water tank’s circular plastic thermostat, Metzger demonstrated how to lower it a half a step at a time.
“A residential hot water heater holds 40 gallons,” he said. “The water temperature’s factory setting is 140 degrees. Anywhere between 120 and 140 is OK. Over 140 and you can get scalded, especially the elderly.”
He advised homeowners to test the temperature by carefully placing a hand under a water faucet and turning on just the hot water.
“If you can’t keep your hand under it, the temperature is set too high,” he said. “Lower it a half step and let it sit for 45 minutes and go test it again. If you find you’re running out of hotwater for showerswith the new setting you can always raise it up.”
National Grid’s Web site is: www.nationalgridus.com