ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Prepare for some sticker shock when you open your utility bill this month. Even if you haven’t touched your thermostat, you’re going to be paying more to stay warm because of the bitterly cold temperatures we’ve been facing.
Utilities forecast how much energy they will need to pre-purchase for heating season based on historical data of average temperatures. This winter has been colder than average, forcing utilities to buy more energy on the open market at a much higher price. Those costs are then passed on to consumers.
Typically, utilities use what are known as heating degree days (HDD) to forecast their winter supply needs. HDD measures the heating requirement based on the assumption that heating is needed when the daily mean temperature falls below 65°F.
This season, the Rochester region is already 240 heating degree days higher than normal and 362 heating degree days higher than this time last year, according to data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center.
“It’s that greater demand that’s driving up prices in the supply market. Gas supply costs are up 20% this year,” explains Alexis Arnold, a spokeswoman for RG&E.
Alexis Arnold: “Remember Jenn, RG&E is in the energy delivery business. We do not set or control the supply costs; that is something that is determined by the market and as those increase, that is passed on to customers.”
Jennifer Lewke (News10NBC): “You don’t set the supply costs but you do make more money, the more you deliver.”
Alexis Arnold: “Well, what happens with the delivery costs is if we are delivering more energy to homes, yes the people are going to see the influx in that as well. That is the cost of getting the energy to the homes, the poles, the wires, the transmission lines, substations.”
Jennifer Lewke: “It’s already tough for people this time of year to keep up with their bills, what additional help is available if this is just unsustainable for customers?”
Alexis Arnold: “We do have a number of resources to help people manage those monthly energy costs… We recently enacted usage alerts that customers can sign up for. They’ll get text messages that show, hey you have a spike in usage, here’s why, really alerting people that hey, there’s something going on here. So, customers can make that choice to cut back if you will. They always can call customer service, they can walk customers through what’s happening with their bill. On the financial side of things, we have HEAP for those who qualify. We also have something called enhanced energy affordability program and that is deigned for moderately low-income customers. So, those are people who might not qualify for HEAP or Emergency HEAP, they can see if they qualify for EEAP and get an additional credit on their bill as well.
For more information about programs to help with high bills, click here.
News10NBC Investigates: Sky-high RG&E bills shock customers as cold winter drives up energy costs WHEC.com.
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