New Jersey Natural Gas Files to Expand Energy-Efficiency Opportunities to Customers

Proposes Zero-Cost Equipment Upgrades for Seniors, Affordable Clean
Energy Incentives for Customers and Public Entities and a New Solar
Program that Benefits Households in Need

WALL, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) today filed with the New Jersey Board of
Public Utilities (BPU), seeking to significantly expand its energy
efficiency offerings to help customers, including public entities, save
money, manage their energy usage and reduce emissions. NJNG also
proposes a new solar program at its facilities, providing the systems’
annual energy savings to low income households in its service area,
doubling the benefit for those participating in the state’s utility
assistance program.

The filing is designed to increase consumer access to energy efficiency
with information about how to lower energy costs and provides rebates,
incentives and special financing for residential, low-income (including
seniors and the disabled), public entities, commercial and industrial
customers. These programs support New Jersey’s energy-efficiency and
clean energy goals.

Pending BPU approval, NJNG is planning to invest in excess of $341
million over the six-year program, consisting of approximately $158
million of direct investment and $183 million in financing options. The
investment will be funded at a cost of $302 million by customers over
the next 30 years. The average annual impact for the typical residential
heating customer using 1,000 therms per year over the life of the
program is estimated to be $14.74 or 1.4 percent. Expected savings for
participating customers will range from 1 to 30 percent depending on the
program utilized, creating energy savings totaling $605 million over the
30-year period. Further, if fully subscribed, the program will result in
a reduction of more than 3.4 million tons in carbon dioxide emissions.

“Energy efficiency is one of the most effective ways to help customers
save energy and money, protect our environment and create a stronger and
fairer clean energy economy,” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO
of New Jersey Natural Gas. “We have already helped our customers save
$374 million through programs that reduce natural gas usage, and our
efforts have protected the environment by preventing the release of 2.1
million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which equates to
removing approximately 400,000 cars from New Jersey’s roads each year.
We look forward to bringing these expanded and innovative programs to
all of our customers to help reduce their energy bills and carbon
footprint.”

Since 2009, NJNG has invested more than $150 million in
energy-efficiency programs through The SAVEGREEN Project®,
generating $371 million in economic activity in its service territory
while reducing greenhouse emissions. Over the last decade, more than
50,000 customers have participated in SAVEGREEN, helping to grow the
green energy economy for the more than 2,600 contractors who have
participated in the program.

Residential Offerings
To
increase the energy efficiency opportunities for customers, NJNG
proposes expanding for residential customers its current SAVEGREEN
offerings of rebates and incentives for qualifying equipment replacement
and comprehensive home energy measures. The offerings provide customers
with repayment and financing options and new lower cost energy-saving
measures, as well as special terms for low- to moderate-income
households to help implement whole-house and other energy saving
solutions.

Low Income Solar
To ensure all
customers, especially those most in need, have access to affordable
energy, NJNG intends to invest and install solar at its facilities to
help bring the benefits and savings of solar to a subset of low-income
customers. The value of the annual energy savings and solar renewable
energy certificates from the systems will be provided to eligible
customers through annual credits on their natural gas bills. This
innovative program is estimated to effectively double the benefits they
receive from Lifeline, a state utility assistance program for eligible
seniors and the disabled.

Commercial and Industrial Offerings
In
addition to the residential programs, included in the filing are
financial incentives for commercial customers to help address the
upfront costs of energy-efficient equipment and whole-building energy
improvements, as well as retro-commissioning and energy management to
maximize savings and reduce payback time.

With a focus on equity, the company will also target public entities
with high energy demand — municipalities, schools, universities,
nonprofits, healthcare and multifamily housing. NJNG is proposing a
combination of incentives to cover the cost of energy-efficiency
projects for qualified entities. The proposal also takes into
consideration the energy efficiency potential of smaller commercial
customers (using 5,000 therms or less), providing an energy assessment
with coaching and training, along with upfront incentives to cover the
costs of energy improvement measures.

Community Offerings
NJNG plans
to collaborate with community organizations serving the needs of low- to
moderate-income households and seniors to provide no-cost
weatherization/conservation kits and other resources that can help these
customers manage their energy bills. NJNG also intends to pilot a new
approach in an all-electric development in Ocean County to help its
senior residents achieve energy efficiency by converting their equipment
to natural gas, and providing other upgrades, smart thermostats and
conservation kits to maximize their energy savings. The measures will be
provided at no cost to these seniors and help reduce their energy
burden, providing an estimated 35 to 50 percent in annual savings on
their energy bills.

The company’s PowerSave Schools program will also be extended beginning
in the 2019-2020 academic year to 100 schools. In partnership with the
Alliance to Save Energy, PowerSave trains students to identify and
implement energy savings. The historical savings observed through the
PowerSave program is 5 to 15 percent nationwide, which reduces the tax
burden on communities.

New Technology Approaches
NJNG
also plans to fund investments in new technologies to help gain critical
insights on new energy efficiency solutions that supports the state’s
longer term strategies for reaching climate goals and building a fair,
clean energy economy.

Pending BPU approval, NJNG will earn a return on its investments at its
currently allowed weighted average cost of capital.

About New Jersey Resources
New
Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that, through
its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean
energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset
management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses:

• New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates
  and maintains over 7,400 miles of natural gas transportation and
  distribution infrastructure to serve over half a million customers in
  New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris, Middlesex and
  Burlington counties.
• NJR Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar
  and onshore wind projects with a total capacity of more than 300
  megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with
  low-carbon solutions.
• NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural
  gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural
  gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across
  North America.
• NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and
  producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its
  50 percent equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage
  facility and its stake in Dominion Midstream Partners, L.P., as well
  as its 20 percent equity interest in the PennEast Pipeline Project.
• NJR Home Services provides service contracts as well as
  heating, central air conditioning, water heaters, standby generators,
  solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential
  homes throughout New Jersey.

NJR and its more than 1,000 employees are committed to helping customers
save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging
efficiency through Conserve to Preserve® and initiatives such
as The SAVEGREEN Project® and The Sunlight Advantage®.

For more information about NJR:
Visit www.njresources.com.
Follow
us on Twitter
@NJNaturalGas.
“Like” us on facebook.com/NewJerseyNaturalGas.
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our free NJR investor relations app for iPad, iPhone and Android.

Contacts

New Jersey Resources
Media:
Michael Kinney,
732-938-1031
[email protected]
or
Investors:
Dennis
Puma, 732-938-1229
[email protected]