According to the
Long Island Business News, the Long Island Power Authority said even though it expects cheaper fuel costs next year, ratepayers’ bills are likely to rise slightly due to additional taxes the utility must face.
The Uniondale-based utility on Monday released its proposed 2010 operating and capital budgets, projecting purchased power costs to decrease in the coming year, leading to a 4 percent drop in power supply charges.
However, LIPA said it’s being hit by a new state assessment on utilities as of 2010, resulting in a $1.75 monthly charge for the average residential customer.
The authority said this new assessment along with increases in property taxes will result in a 1.5 percent or $2.25 increase in the typical residential customer’s monthly bill as of next January.
These expenses also will result in a 0.4 percent hike in the typical commercial customer’s monthly bill, producing a combined increase of about 1 percent for all customers.
LIPA said its budget lowers the power supply charge portion of the bill, maintains the delivery charge and allows the authority to increases its investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.
“We need to operate in a fiscally conservative environment, while continuing to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said LIPA President and CEO Kevin S. Law.
LIPA also said that as of 2010 it will clearly label its efficiency and renewable energy charge in bills, showing how much customers contribute to these programs. That amount used to be included in the delivery charge.
Law said LIPA still has nearly $7 billion in debt and pays more than $492 million in taxes to the state, counties, towns, villages and local school districts, which must be recovered from customers.
“If we are ever going to provide permanent rate relief to our customers, we must reduce both our debt and tax burden,” said Law, who pledged to work with the LIPA board of trustees, elected officials and business and civic leaders on these issues.
LIPA also last week started to send out one-time $70 credits to residential customers as a result of lower than expected fuel costs this year.
