Critics: New gas administrator Good Energy bringing not-so-good energy prices to Brookhaven

A Brookhaven Town-backed energy program intended to help homeowners cut their natural gas bills has had the opposite effect for thousands of customers — more than doubling what they'd be paying if the program didn't exist.

Officials said National Grid's natural gas prices have plummeted in recent months, meaning those charges now are considerably lower than the locked-in monthly cost Brookhaven's energy partner, Manhattan-based Good Energy, has offered since May.

Some residents and a town official have raised questions about whether the program, pitched by town officials as a way to cut consumer costs, actually might be pricier in the long run.

Councilman Jonathan Kornreich said a typical homeowner who pays $139 per month in the town program is paying about $70 more now than if that person switched back to National Grid.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Kornreich, a Stony Brook Democrat. “We‘re collectively costing our residents many, many, many thousands of dollars.”

In May, town officials automatically enrolled homeowners in the program, known as Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA, while seeking to reduce residents' energy bills. Participants are allowed to opt out any time.

Community choice programs like Brookhaven’s can benefit ratepayers even if the locked-in contract isn’t always competitive with the changing monthly charge from National Grid.

Longer-term energy contracts can benefit customers if, as has happened in the past two years, geopolitical, supply or weather factors cause gas prices to skyrocket.

Kornreich said 80% of Brookhaven homes remained in the CCA program as of this week, adding that many residents appear to be unaware they can opt out.

“Clearly, we are not doing a good enough job getting the word out that this choice exists,” Kornreich said.

Earlier this year Good Energy and Brookhaven officials predicted the program would save the average Brookhaven household about $100 annually. 

The program offers a monthly rate of 69.5 cents per therm — the unit of measurement used to calculate gas bills. The price is locked in for two years regardless of market fluctuations.

Doug Donaldson, a spokesman for Good Energy, noted that when the program started in May, the 69.5 cent figure was a savings over the prior 12-month average of National Grid costs, which was 79.5 cents per therm. 

But since then, the company's price has plummeted to 33.9 cents in August, less than half what Good Energy charges. 

Good Energy officials, noting the historic volatility of the energy market, have pleaded for patience and said customers should reconsider before they opt out.

"I would wait before you act too quick," managing partner Javier Barrios said Thursday at a Brookhaven Town Board meeting. "There could be corrections in the market."

Port Jefferson Station resident Ira Costell said he opted out two weeks ago after finding he was paying more than necessary. Costell, president of the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Civic Association, said the program ultimately might be beneficial, but for now it's too expensive.

“If a therm is cheaper in May and no one is there to opt out, does it save a penny?” he said.

Costell said he would have opted out sooner on the town's website but stopped because he was asked for an "opt-out code." 

Kornreich said the code is not needed to opt out, even if the website doesn't indicate that.

In 2016 the state Public Service Commission authorized community choice aggregation as a means to both save consumers money and pursue green energy alternatives. Besides Brookhaven, the towns of Southampton and Hempstead and Lynbrook village have or are considering establishing a CCA.

Lawrence Goldstein, director of the Energy Policy Research Foundation and a member of the National Petroleum Council, said gas prices likely will remain relatively low in the near future.

“Gas demand in the U.S. has been extremely weak,” Goldstein said Tuesday. "So supply is up and inventories are very, very strong."

It is so strong that much of the excess supply is being shipped in the form of liquid natural gas to Europe, Mexico and parts of Asia, the expert said.

Goldstein predicted gas prices likely will remain “under pressure” for the next 18 months, suggesting that only “exceptional weather,” such as hurricanes this season or early cold this winter, could push prices markedly higher.