Natural gas customers eligible for discount

Natural gas customers in the 64 villages in Nassau County are eligible for a discount on their bills because of an agreement with the Nassau County Village Officials Association.

Village governments can sign up to get an 8 percent discount on gas prices for village facilities. That discount can also be offered to residents and businesses once the village signs on for the program with East Coast Power and Gas, said Ralph Kreitzman, Village of Great Neck mayor and association president.

The deal grew out of a bid issued by the Village of Mineola and opened up to villages in the Long Island Municipal Cooperative Purchasing Group.

Customers who sign up will continue to be billed by National Grid and delivery costs will remain the same, but supply cost charges will be lowered by 8 percent.

"We're already saving money for our village properties," Kreitzman said. "It is a guaranteed reduction."

Once a village signs up with Rockville Centre-based East Coast, mailers will be sent to residents, who can then contact the company directly. East Coast will buy gas and supply it to National Grid, co-owner Tom Bogue said.

Customers do not have to sign a contract or pay a sign-up fee and can cancel at any time. "There's no handcuffs," he said.

Bogue called the program a competitive way to attract customers. It has not been offered in Suffolk County.

By the end of last week, these villages had signed up: Cedarhurst, Garden City, Hempstead, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre and Stewart Manor in the Town of Hempstead; Great Neck, Great Neck Plaza, Mineola and Westbury in the Town of North Hempstead; and Farmingdale and Massapequa Park in the Town of Oyster Bay.