New Jersey Natural Gas Files to Implement New Energy-Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs
March 29 2010 - 2:03PM
Business Wire
New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) today submitted a filing with the
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) for approval to
implement a series of energy-efficiency and renewable energy
programs for residential and commercial customers designed to help
customers save money and energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and stimulate market growth.
“With these new programs, New Jersey Natural Gas is helping
customers to invest in high-efficiency and renewable energy
equipment and reduce their overall energy costs,” said Laurence M.
Downes, chairman and CEO of NJNG. “By working with our customers,
NJNG is prepared to play a critical role in meeting the state’s
energy, environmental and economic goals by saving energy, reducing
emissions and creating jobs.”
“Programs such as Conserve to Preserve® and The SAVEGREEN
Project™ have been tremendously successful in helping customers
reduce energy consumption, costs and emissions,” Downes said.
“These new programs build on that success and take our programs to
the next level by making it even easier for customers to do their
part and make the right, energy-efficient choices.”
The Residential Energy-Efficiency Program (REEP) will provide
enhanced rebates up to $2,000 to residential customers installing
high-efficiency heating, cooling or water-heating equipment and
applying for WARM or COOLAdvantage rebates through New Jersey's
Clean Energy Program (NJCEP). Customers will be required to take a
Home Performance with Energy Star (HPES) Audit to be performed by
NJNG at no cost. For eligible customers who decide to have an audit
performed by an HPES contractor, NJNG will also offer discounted
financing for energy-efficiency upgrades installed as a result of
the audit. Financing, up to $10,000 per home with a repayment term
up to 10 years at either 2.99 percent or zero percent, based on
income, will be offered through a third-party provider to qualified
customers.
NJNG’s Access to Affordable Energy Pilot Program (Access) will
offer residential electric heat customers, who currently receive at
least $50 in electric benefits from the Universal Service Fund
(USF), the opportunity to receive an average of $5,000 to convert
to high-efficiency natural gas equipment. The USF is a statewide
program that offers income-eligible customers financial assistance
toward paying electric and natural gas bills. The Access Program
will provide the combined benefit of assisting eligible customers
to save energy and money by converting to a high-efficiency natural
gas heating system as well as helping to ease the statewide burden
on USF assistance, which is funded by all customers.
In an effort to influence and increase the number of commercial
customers installing high-efficiency equipment, the Commercial
Energy-Efficiency Program (CEEP) will match current NJCEP rebates
available through the SmartStart Building® program. By effectively
doubling the incentives available to commercial customers for the
purchase and installation of high-efficiency natural gas heating,
cooling and water-heating equipment such as absorption chillers,
engine-driven chillers, desiccant systems, water heaters, booster
heaters, boilers and furnaces, NJNG is helping to make upgrading to
energy-efficient equipment the easy choice for commercial
customers.
To help further encourage the installation of Combined Heat and
Power (CHP) projects, which draw heat and electricity from a single
source such as natural gas, NJNG will also match current incentives
available from NJCEP’s Pay for Performance Program. Commercial
customers with a peak demand over 200 kilowatts (kW) in any one
month over the previous 12 months will be eligible to participate.
Currently, NJCEP is providing funding up to $1 million in support
of CHP projects that identify energy-efficiency measures resulting
in a reduction of energy consumption by 15 percent or more. Through
CEEP, NJNG will also provide up to $100,000 for commercial
customers who may have previously implemented energy-efficiency
upgrades to participate in an Energy Reduction Plan and assess
additional opportunities in increased efficiency.
In addition to providing savings to customers who make
energy-efficiency upgrades within their homes, NJNG will also
launch a new Solar Energy Program to help make renewable energy
more accessible and affordable in its service territory. This
program will help customers reduce energy costs as well as support
market growth, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in
the state. Customers in Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris
counties will have the opportunity to have their property evaluated
through a solar assessment to determine eligibility to participate
in the program. Homes must have a south-facing roof that is clear
of any obstructions and be no more than five years old. NJNG will
lease photovoltaic equipment for approximately $49 a month for a
six-kilowatt system over 15 years, effectively eliminating the
upfront costs for customers. NJNG will install, own and operate the
equipment which will generate electricity to offset a portion of
the homeowner’s monthly electric bill. Federal investment tax
credits and Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC) will be used
to offset the overall cost of the program. At the conclusion of the
lease, customers will have the option to purchase the equipment at
the fair market value or enter into another lease agreement. This
solar program is expected to save the average homeowner
approximately $100 a month on electric costs, based on current
prices, while generating clean, reliable power for their home.
Once reviewed and approved by the BPU, these programs will run
for three years. If fully subscribed, the cost of the customer
incentives will be $102 million to be recovered through NJNG’s
current energy-efficiency rider. Assuming full participation, the
anticipated impact for the typical residential heat customer using
1,000 therms annually will be approximately 0.6 percent, or an
average of $8.14 pr year, over a 15-year period. If these programs
are approved as filed, customers will see no change in their bill
before October 2011. NJNG has requested approval of its filing from
the BPU by October 1, 2010.
NJNG also plans to implement an additional program entitled
Fostering Environmental and Economic Development (FEED). The FEED
program is designed to provide financial assistance for
energy-efficiency upgrades and economic development opportunities
for commercial and industrial customers. FEED will provide access
to investment capital, incentives and/or discounted rates to
encourage the installation of energy-efficient equipment as well as
business growth, expansion and retention in the state. Upfront
funding will be provided by NJNG with the principal and interest
repaid by the customer over an agreed upon period of time. This
program provides no risk to ratepayers and no associated costs will
be recovered through NJNG’s rates.
These programs have been developed in line with the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) legislation signed into law on
January 13, 2008, which encourages energy utilities in New Jersey
to make investments in energy-efficiency and renewable energy
projects on a regulated basis. Section 13 of the legislation,
codified as N.J.S.A. 48:3-98.1, established that electric or
natural gas utilities can offer and invest in regulated
energy-efficiency and conservation programs within their service
territory as well as provide and invest in renewable energy
programs.
New Jersey Natural Gas is the principal subsidiary of New Jersey
Resources, a Fortune 1000 company, that provides reliable energy
and natural gas 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 over $2.5 billion in
annual revenues, NJR safely and reliably operates and maintains
6,700 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution
infrastructure to serve nearly half a million customers; develops
and manages a diverse portfolio of more than 777,000 dth/d of
transportation capacity and 52 Bcf of storage capacity; and
provides appliance installation, repair and contract service to
approximately 150,000 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.njng.com.
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