Electric Bill

PSE&G reduced its rates a bit recently resulting in the KwH costing about $.002 more that Direct Energy.  That is the Winter pricing.  When Summer rolls around, PSE&G will increase its price due to A/C demand while Direct Energy won't.  That's when you'll see the savings.

There will be savings, but the program got off to a rough start, leaving many people angry and complaining.  Many people were incorrectly put on a payment plan and that mistake is being unraveled.  My takeaway from that discussion has been that a great many folks simply do not know how to read their bills.  Estatecat, you understand it.  Providing power and delivering power are two different things.  In addition, the Kwh cost is what matters for comparison, not a month to month change.

There was a lot of confusion on Maplewood-specific threads here and on Next Door and Facebook because all Maplewood participants were enrolled under an equal payment plan which resulted in some persons being charged more in a given month than the cost of the electricity they had used during that month.  This led to some posters stating that they were being overcharged.  That problem is now being resolved.  I was told that this issue did not pertain to South Orange residents but it would be best to check with the appropriate South Orange official to verify if that is the case.  In any event, the best first step would be to examine your own PSE&G bills for the past several months to determine if you are in fact being charged more for electricity than you would have been had you remained with PSE&G.

It's worked out well for my HH. Lower monthly bill as well as a nice end of year credit. No bill payment for me until March 2020. 

Natural gas prices are falling worldwide. That should have an effect on energy prices.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/natural-gas-prices-fall-below-2-11579626216

Runner_Guy said:

Natural gas prices are falling worldwide. That should have an effect on energy prices.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/natural-gas-prices-fall-below-2-11579626216

It won't help much if delivery costs increase a lot, which they did. 

I had my gas cost increase from .3646 to .3753 per therm in my Jan 2019 vs Jan 2020 bills, a 3% increase. 

But a major delivery cost increase of .5260 to .6712, a 28% increase.

Most cost is not the cost of gas, its the cost of delivery.

I just hope that they are using that increase to repair our crumbling gas infrastructure.  For decades low cost and deferred maintenance has been the mantra.  It is time to pay to update this for the next generation.

FilmCarp said:

I just hope that they are using that increase to repair our crumbling gas infrastructure.  For decades low cost and deferred maintenance has been the mantra.  It is time to pay to update this for the next generation.

Is gas crumbling? Its basically storage tanks and underground pipes. Unlike water pipes they don't have thaw/freeze issues. We hear of water pipes breaking but very, very rarely of gas.

What surprised me is that the gas provider delivery cost increase is much higher than electric delivery increase even though electric lines seem to require so much more work, the trimming of trees and the many repairs after storms. My electric delivery cost went up less .16% (yes, less than 1%).

Is this a "we're not making as much money as we like and supply isn't doing it for us, so lets increase the delivery cost." Are we being scammed? Who's watching the store? BPU management, many who retire and then get jobs with the industry providers? Why aren't these very major increases in the news?

Look at South Orange avenue.  The main is leaking, but not in one place.  Instead, every joint between pipes is leaking a little.  That's why there are patches every 20 feet, and why you can smell gas in some areas downtown.  

And of course, the driving force for the last 40 years has been to never charge enough to upgrade as we go, but to dump repair costs on the next generation for the infrastructure the last generation built.  And to call scam if prices go up.

FilmCarp said:

And of course, the driving force for the last 40 years has been to never charge enough to upgrade as we go, but to dump repair costs on the next generation for the infrastructure the last generation built.  And to call scam if prices go up.

 I'll believe it when I see pipes being dug up and replaced. So far, I haven't.

Again, drive up South Orange avenue.  Every 20 feet.  You will see where every joint has been dug up.

FilmCarp said:

Again, drive up South Orange avenue.  Every 20 feet.  You will see where every joint has been dug up.

 Agree!  That whole section of road is like a giant rumble strip...