Brookhaven urging residents to compare town's natural gas prices to National Grid's

When Brookhaven introduced a natural gas program last year that was supposed to cut homeowners' bills by up to $100 annually by offering a fixed rate, Herb Mones opted not to join.

“My suspicion was it was not going to be very cost-effective," the Stony Brook retiree and civic activist said. “It was an overreach of the government getting into the private marketplace, and that usually doesn’t work out very well."

Mones, 72, may have a point.

Since Brookhaven rolled out the program last May, town residents participating in the optional program have paid more each month than customers of National Grid, Long Island's major gas supplier.

While National Grid rates fluctuate monthly, the program offered by the town uses a flat rate — which has been higher than Grid's rates each month since the town program started. Town officials are planning a mailing as part of a campaign encouraging residents to compare rates each month, but critics of the program, including civic leaders and AARP, say it's not reasonable to ask residents to shop monthly for better gas prices.

Civic leaders said many town residents appear to be unaware of the program or that they may opt out at any time without penalty. 

A state-authorized energy program

Brookhaven is one of only two Long Island municipalities to adopt a state-authorized energy program called Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA. State officials approved the program in 2016, hoping it would foster competition that would bring down consumer energy costs.

The Village of Lynbrook, the only other Long Island community to adopt a CCA, dropped it in fall 2022, saying it had not brought any benefits for its residents.

Brookhaven officials said they have no plans to drop its two-year program, which ends in April 2025, but will step up efforts to educate residents about it — and possibly advise them when to opt out. 

We want our residents to save money. People should opt out of the program, and then when [National Grid] prices rise, opt back in.

—Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico 

"We want our residents to save money,” Supervisor Dan Panico said in an interview, adding he believes the program should eventually produce savings for town residents. "People should opt out of the program, and then when [National Grid] prices rise, opt back in. Opt out and then opt back in. That’s when the savings begin.” 

There is no hard data to indicate whether CCA programs are successful: Out of hundreds of municipalities statewide, only 57 have CCAs, said James Denn, spokesman for the state Department of Public Service, which oversees utilities. 

The towns of Hempstead, Southampton and East Hampton are considering whether to adopt CCA programs for either gas or electricity.

Brookhaven last year hired Manhattan-based Good Energy to manage its CCA. Residents who participate in the program still pay their gas bills through National Grid. Participants initially were automatically enrolled last May.

There are 43,937 Brookhaven customers in the town program, out of about 54,874 potential customers, including homes and some small businesses, Good Energy spokesman Doug Donaldson said Friday. Almost 11,000 had left the program for a 19.93% opt-out rate, he said.

Consumers pay a flat monthly rate

Brookhaven CCA customers pay a flat monthly rate of 69.5 cents per therm — or about $139 per month for a household using 200 therms, compared with about $107.50 for National Grid customers at the company's current rate for the Long Island region. A therm is a unit of measurement. 

Since May 1, when the Brookhaven program began, National Grid rates have plummeted — as low as 27.8 cents per therm in July and peaking last month at 55 cents. Grid's rate dropped on Feb. 1 to 53.8 cents per therm. 

Donaldson said Brookhaven ratepayers may see lower costs from the town program over time, noting that the company's flat rate acts as a buffer against "unpredictable" cost fluctuations at suppliers such as National Grid. Energy prices can vary due to volatility in the international energy marketplace.

"Brookhaven residents who stay opted into the CCA program can benefit from stable and predictable rates over time," he said. "Staying in the CCA as a set-it-and-forget-it option will keep rates stable throughout the year despite market fluctuations. That is one of the greatest benefits of the Brookhaven CCA program."

National Grid has said it supports programs like CCAs, adding they ensure consumers have a say in their energy supply payments.

Critics: Energy shopping not reasonable

But critics, such as AARP, say CCA programs put too much burden on residents to do their own energy shopping. 

“To say that a consumer is going to sit at their computer every month ... to determine what the best price is — it could happen, but in the opinion of AARP, it’s unlikely to happen,” said Bill Ferris of AARP's Albany office. He added that automatic enrollments leave many residents in the dark.

“The policy should be flipped,” Ferris said. “People may not be aware that they were put in the CCA program, and now they’re paying higher rates.”

Town officials had said last year that automatic enrollment was intended to make it easier for residents to participate.

Brookhaven's program is promoted on a page of the town website, which directs users to National Grid rate charts and includes large buttons allowing residents to opt in or opt out. National Grid bills list Good Energy as the provider for those in the program.

But several civic leaders contacted by Newsday said many residents appear to be unaware of the CCA, adding it is rarely discussed at civic gatherings.

“I don’t think people know," said Gail Lynch-Bailey, president of the Middle Island Civic Association. 

"I think it was [with] the best intentions that the town did this, but I think the fact that people were automatically opted in still rankles some people.”

In Lynbrook, village officials adopted a CCA in November 2020 and suspended it two years later because of changing "market conditions," Mayor Alan Beach said Thursday.

"Due to fluctuating National Grid rates, it was not beneficial to the village at that time," he said.

Residents can opt out of CCA

Not all Brookhaven residents were automatically enrolled last year — an unknown number of residents in communities such as Mastic Beach, Medford and Middle Island do not have gas service, so they are not eligible for the program. 

Gas usage varies among customers depending on whether they use gas for cooking, heating or both.

Mones said he and his wife, Gretchen, pay National Grid $14 or $15 a month for cooking. Separately, they pay $4,000 a year to have gas for heating delivered to their house.

“We keep our eyes on [the National Grid bills]. We try to be very conservative ... in our usage," Mones said. "We try to be the most ... frugal in our energy usage.”

He doesn't blame other people for staying in the town CCA, adding many folks are too busy to compare rates.

“It really is something that flies well below the radar at this particular point, which I think is unfortunate,” Mones said.

Panico and Brookhaven Councilman Jonathan Kornreich said residents should check rates frequently to determine whether they should remain in the CCA.

Kornreich, who has been critical of how the town rolled out the program, said last week the town plans to send letters to residents about the program and their right to opt out of it. He could not say when those letters would be mailed.

“If they’re not upset, it means they don’t know" about the CCA program, Kornreich said. "It is useful if the consumers are educated. The problem has been educating them.”

Some residents said they support the program, saying that while it may be more expensive now, it could produce savings later.

Jeffrey W. Kagan, 76, of Farmingville, called Brookhaven's CCA “tremendous,” adding he didn't opt out because he thinks competition eventually will bring down prices.

But he said he has received little information from either the town or National Grid since Brookhaven began the program.

“I haven’t seen anything that demonstrates whether I’m winning or losing,” Kagan said.