KINGSTON, N.Y. — Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. said Tuesday that natural gas supply prices have dramatically dropped this month after significantly spiking in September.
The utility said that natural gas prices, effective Monday, Oct. 3, have decreased from 97.8 cents per 100 cubic feet (ccf), to 78.8 cents.
The price in August was 87.1 cents per ccf and in July it was 72 cents.
Supply prices stated on bills and overall bill impacts vary for individual customers depending on their billing cycle and energy usage, the utility said.
As Central Hudson has said before, energy markets remain volatile due to a number of international, national and regional factors.
“The primary driver behind the decrease this month is a reduction in demand due to the seasonal change to more moderate temperatures,” said Joseph Jenkins, a Central Hudson spokesman, in an email. “Analysts continue to issue warnings regarding elevated energy prices for this winter, however. “
The October electricity supply prices won’t be known until the middle of the month, Jenkins said.
Electricity and natural gas are provided by independent generators and suppliers in a competitive marketplace and purchased on behalf of customers, according to Central Hudson.
“We will continue to make every effort to help our customers manage these costs through energy efficiency programs, assistance programs and grants and billing options like no-cost deferred payment agreements,” Jenkins said. “We will also continue to work with regulators to effective ways to mitigate the swings we’ve been seeing in the energy markets recently.”
In August, Central Hudson said that its electric supply costs shot up by nearly 60% as of Tuesday, Sept. 13, marking the third month in a row that those costs have increased.
The residential price for electric supply jumped from 8.32 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in August to 13.06 cents per kWh, an increase of 4.74 cents per kWh, or 56.97 percent.
In mid-July, the utility said the residential price for electric supply had risen from 5.83 cents per kWh to 8.32 cents. And in June, the residential price for electricity had risen from 4.18 cents per kWh in June to 5.83 cents per kWh in July.
As of June 10, the supply price had declined from 6.12 cents per kWh in May to 4.18 cents per kWh, according to the utility. As of May 11, Central Hudson said that the prices had significantly declined from 13.6 cents per kWh in April to 6.12 cents per kWH.
