The Long Island Power Authority will hold two public hearings on Tuesday dedicated to the rate-modernization proposals it is planning to institute in 2024.
Those proposals include a “time of day” (TOD) rate and a “super off-peak rate,” which together “will help customers save money” while supporting Long Island’s transition to “clean, affordable energy,” the utility said in an announcement.
For ratepayers, the proposed TOD rate would allow customers to pay different rates for power based on when they use it. Electric rates are higher on weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m., but lower at all other hours and on off-peak weekends and holidays. The super off-peak rate discounts service further between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The utility says that customers who sign on for the new, optional rates would get a one-year “bill-protection guarantee.” Those customers would get a refund if they opted into the new billing scheme but “would have paid less on the flat rate.” Customers can also stay on the flat rate.
Tuesday’s public hearings take place at 10 a.m. at the H. Lee Dennison Building, 100 Veterans Highway in Hauppauge, and again at 6 p.m. at 333 Earle Ovington Boulevard, Suite 403, in Uniondale. The latter hearing will be accessible virtually. Written comments can be sent to [email protected].
Long Island’s power is delivered via a public-private partnership between LIPA, a not-for-profit public utility, and PSEG Long Island, an investor-owned utility that contracts with LIPA to manage the electrical grid. The LIPA board of trustees will consider the proposed changes at its March 29 meeting. More information can be found at lipower.org.