Some N.J. gas customers to see a second rate decrease this winter

Some New Jersey residents may soon see lower gas bills for the second time this winter.

Starting March 1, the gas supply rate will decrease for PSE&G residential customers by 3 cents per therm —or unit of heat — the company announced this week, as natural gas prices dropped to their lowest level since the pandemic hit almost three years ago.

Households that use 100 therms per month, for example, will now have a monthly winter gas bill of $113 per month, $3 less than they are now paying. Annually, residential customers will see a 2.6% reduction in their bills, PSE&G estimates.

“We’re pleased to be able to lower our gas rate again, said Dave Johnson, the company’s vice president of customer care, “and we will continue to help our customers manage energy use and costs.”

The announcement comes as many homeowners and renters are paying more to heat their homes, regardless of how they do so, due to the continued impacts of inflation, the war in Ukraine, and global supply chain issues.

» READ MORE: Here’s how to reduce your heating bill in Philadelphia

December bills, which included a particularly frigid stretch of days around Christmas, were particularly high across the region. However, the winter has otherwise been mild, decreasing heating demand and causing a rare winter surplus of natural gas in the U.S.

In New Jersey, this is the second supply rate reduction that PSE&G has implemented in the past two months. Coupled with the supply rate reduction that went into effect Feb. 1, customers’ monthly bills are about $18 or 14% less than they were in January.

PSE&G is New Jersey’s largest electric and gas service provider, serving more than 5 million residents statewide, including in parts of Camden and Burlington Counties.

On the other side of the river, Philadelphia Gas Works’ approximately 500,000 customers saw the supply rates on their bills decrease slightly beginning in September, with PGW estimating that the typical monthly would decrease by 5 cents.

The supply charge represents how much a provider is paying for the amount of gas a customer uses, without a profit margin.