Utility Customers Will Pay Less to Help Poor Cover Energy Bills

It will cost utility customers a bit less next year to pay for two widely regarded programs designed to help low-income residents cover their energy bills.

The typical residential gas and electric customer will pay about $6 less to finance the programs, a 13 percent drop, according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, one of two agencies in charge of the initiatives.

The BPU indicates that the two programs will add about $40 a year to the typical residential customer's bill.

More than 200,00 households take advantage of the assistance, which ensures that customers who qualify for the so-called Universal Service Fund spend no more than 6 percent of their household income on energy bills. The budget for the fund this year tops $186 million, a drop from last year's $230 million. It is financed by a surcharge on all customers’ gas and electric bills.

Another $87 million is targeted for the state’s Lifeline program, which offers senior citizens and the disabled a $225 one-time energy benefit, also funded by ratepayer surcharges, dubbed the societal benefits charge.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com