NEWARK, N.J., Jan. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Service
Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) today filed its first regulatory
rate review in more than eight years, asking for a small adjustment
in electric and gas base delivery rates that would increase overall
revenues by approximately 1 percent.
The increase is necessary to recover investments PSE&G made
to strengthen its electric and gas distribution systems, making
them more reliable and resilient. PSE&G is required to file the
rate review as a condition of the approval by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities of the
company's Energy Strong program in 2014.
If approved as filed, the typical combined residential electric
and natural gas customer will see an approximate 1 percent increase
or about $19.70 in their annual bill.
Even with this proposed increase, bills for the typical residential
customer are expected to be more than 15 percent lower than they
were in 2010.
"Our customer bills are already among the lowest in the state –
and that won't change," said David
Daly, PSE&G president and COO.
"As a result of strong cost control, our residential customer
bills are lower today than they were eight years ago," Daly said.
"Together with passing along savings from recent tax law changes,
we've been able to minimize the impact on our customers."
Revenues from base rates are used to maintain and improve the
electric and gas delivery infrastructure, such as pipes and wires,
and provide customer services. Customer bills also contain separate
charges for the electric and gas supply that is obtained by
PSE&G on behalf of its customers.
"Since our last regulatory rate review in 2010, PSE&G has
made significant capital investments to upgrade, modernize, and
strengthen our electric and gas systems to make them more reliable
and resilient," Daly said. "Our current electric and gas delivery
rates do not reflect all the investments we have made to maintain
the safe, highly reliable service our customers have come to
expect. This rate review also addresses previously incurred storm
costs that had been deferred until this time."
Proposal includes Green Enabling Mechanism
The rate filing also seeks BPU approval of a rate design change,
called the Green Enabling Mechanism (GEM), a proposal to decouple
revenues from sales volumes and thereby encourage energy
efficiency. If approved, the GEM will remove the incentive to
sell more energy and will instead encourage utility investments in
energy efficiency, renewables and other clean energy technologies
that will ultimately benefit all customers by bringing down bills
and reducing emissions.
PSE&G anticipates that new base rates as well as the GEM
will take effect October 1, 2018.
PSE&G
Public Service Electric and Gas
Company (PSE&G) is New
Jersey's oldest and largest regulated gas and electric
delivery utility, serving nearly three-quarters of the state's
population. PSE&G is the winner of the ReliabilityOne
Award for superior electric system reliability. PSE&G is
a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG)
(NYSE: PEG), a diversified energy company.
Visit PSEG
at:
www.pseg.com
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LinkedIn
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained in this press release that are not
purely historical are "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those anticipated. Such statements are based on
management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information
currently available to management. Factors that may cause actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated in any
forward-looking statements made by us herein are discussed in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
and available on its website: http://investor.pseg.com. All
of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are
qualified by these cautionary statements and we cannot assure you
that the results or developments anticipated by management will be
realized or even if realized, will have the expected consequences
to, or effects on, us or our business, prospects, financial
condition, results of operations or cash flows. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements in making any investment decision. Forward-looking
statements made in this press release apply only as of the date
hereof. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements
from time to time, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do
so, even in light of new information or future events, unless
otherwise required by applicable securities laws.
From time to time, PSEG, PSE&G and PSEG Power release
important information via postings on their corporate website
at http://investor.pseg.com. Investors and other interested
parties are encouraged to visit the corporate website to review new
postings. The "Email Alerts" link
at http://investor.pseg.com may be used to enroll to
receive automatic email alerts and/or Really Simple Syndication
(RSS) feeds regarding new postings.
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SOURCE PSE&G