Yet another higher bill for New Jerseyans. Heating a home with natural gas will cost more this fall and winter, as the State Board of Public Utilities has approved rate increases. Residents will pay on average from $21 to $31 more a month — depending on the utility. Higher commodity costs due to the war in Ukraine are among the factors that led to the increase, which comes at a time when many are struggling to manage household costs and close to a million customers are falling behind in payments. Brian Lipman, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel is encouraging residents to take advantage of energy assistance programs offered by the state. For more on this story, our energy and environment writer Tom Johnson reports on njspotlightnews.org.
Paying property tax bills is also challenging for some residents. So the state is urging eligible residents to apply to the Senior Freeze program, which is designed to give seniors and disabled New Jerseyans a tax break. Under the program, residents receive a reimbursement from the state to offset — or freeze — property tax increases. In recent years the program has been expanded — income limits have been raised — making more people eligible, even those who did not qualify in the past. The deadline to apply for the program this year is Oct. 31.
Finally, Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics says the emergency use authorization it received from the FDA is the first granted to a commercially available monkeypox test in the U.S. This, as the FDA announced steps to further expand access to monkeypox testing.
