NEW JERSEY NATURAL GAS ANNOUNCES RATE DECREASE AND BILL CREDIT IN MARCH

WALL, N.J. – New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) today notified the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) that it will implement a decrease to its Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS) rate that reduces the average residential heating customer’s bill by 3.6 percent and provide a bill credit, totaling $11.8 million, for residential and small commercial customers. These savings come in addition to the bill credits NJNG provided in December, January and February. Over the four-month period, customers will have saved a total of $94 million.  

“As a result of continued lower wholesale natural gas prices and the warmer-than-normal winter, we are pleased to provide our customers with these additional savings.” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Natural Gas. “When it seems as though the cost for just about everything continues to go up, these savings represent good news and welcome relief for our customers. As always, we will continue to monitor the natural gas markets and make every effort to identify savings for our customers.”

Effective April 1, 2012, NJNG will reduce its current BGSS rate for residential and small commercial customers. The typical customer using 100 therms a month will realize a savings of 3.6 percent, or $4.35. Over the course of a year, the savings will total $43.50, based upon 1,000 therm usage.  

The BGSS rate is the commodity charge that is passed through to customers, based upon NJNG’s cost to acquire natural gas, and represents one of the two separate charges that comprise the largest portion of a typical natural gas bill. The other major component is the cost of delivering natural gas service to homes and businesses. Changes to the BGSS rate do not affect NJNG’s profitability.

Additionally, NJNG will provide residential and small commercial customers a bill credit for the fourth consecutive month (December, 2011 – March, 2012), which will be applicable to natural gas usage between March 15 and 31, 2012. The company is able to offer this bill credit at this time due to decreased customer usage related to the warmer-than-normal weather in February 2012. The average residential heating customer using 74 therms during this period will receive a credit of approximately $33. Over the course of December, January, February and March, customers will have saved approximately $221, or 33 percent of their total bill.

In accordance with BPU policy, NJNG will submit its annual BGSS filing in June 2012 to establish its expected natural gas rates for the winter heating season beginning October 1, 2012. 

About New Jersey Natural Gas
New Jersey Natural Gas is the principal subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, a Fortune 1000 company, that provides safe and reliable natural gas and renewable energy services, including transportation, distribution and asset management in states from the Gulf Coast to the New England regions, including the Mid-Continent region, the West Coast and Canada, while investing in and maintaining an extensive infrastructure to support future growth. With $3 billion in annual revenues, NJR safely and reliably operates and maintains 6,800 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve nearly half a million customers; develops and manages a diverse portfolio of 3.2 Bcf/day of firm transportation and over 62 Bcf of firm storage capacity; offers low carbon, clean energy solutions through its commercial and residential solar programs and provides appliance installation, repair and contract service to nearly 130,000 homes and businesses. Additionally, NJR holds investments in midstream assets through equity partnerships including Steckman Ridge and Iroquois. Through Conserve to Preserve®, NJR is helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency. For more information about NJR, visit www.njresources.com.