National Grid heating bills should be lower this winter in CNY; for NYSEG, there's a catch - CNYcentral.com

National Grid heating bills should be lower this winter in CNY; for NYSEG, there's a catch | WSTM

Joyce Homan in Dewitt says she wastes no time getting the heat turned on in her household. At what she calls a "tender age", she likes things cozy. It's why predictions from National Grid ahead of the winter come as a pleasant surprise.

"Good idea, especially for people who are living pay check to pay check," Homan said.

National Grid is predicting heating bills to be at least 18 percent lower this winter compared to last year. The company is citing an increase in available domestic natural gas and supply, with a lower demand on the international market. That translates to customers paying about $143 less over the course of the winter season from November 1 to March 1, if they use on average 719 therms.

"That's always nice to have," Jon Yuhas said, also in Dewitt. Yuhas has three young children - and said he never plays around with how much heat they use when Central New York winters come around. He's hoping National Grid's prediction ends up being accurate.

"The biggest thing for us is to expect the unexpected," Yuhas said.

Don Shelter, President of Energy Savers in Dewitt, said this is the right mindset. He said a prediction for a cheaper heating bill over the winter is a big deal; something he hasn't seen for 8 years. He's cautioning customers that predictions aren't always accurate, and that the market can change dramatically in a short window of time.

"Take it with a grain of salt, prepare for the worst, hope for the best," Shelter said.

Shelter also notes that the 18% drop is coming down from a spike last winter, when National Grid predicted heating bills would surge by 39%.

Spokesperson Jared Paventi told CNY Central that while rates are still up from pre COVID, it is a positive sign to see them settling back down to a more normal range of prices. He said that domestic supply of gas should hold strong, but said it is possible that the war in Israel could have an unforeseen impact.

NYSEG and RG&E CEO Trish Nilsen, said that their customers should anticipate similarly lower costs based purely on supply.

"Fortunately for the New York area those natural gas prices and energy prices as a whole are lower than they have been in past years," Nilsen said.

However, NYSEG and RG&E customers are likely to see an overall increase to their bills. On Thursday, the New York State Public Service Commission unanimously approved rate hikes that take effect in November. According to the company, customers will begin to see on average an increase on their monthly bills of about four dollars for gas and nine dollars for electric, depending on overall energy usage. That's year one - with rates expected to increase incrementally over the next three years.

According to Nilsen, the rate increases are long overdue and desperately needed to allow the company to make necessary fixes to their own infrastructure, which will in turn allow them to provide better service to customers.