PETER BOODY FILE PHOTO | A LIPA crew at work to fix an outage following Tropical Storm Irene.

The Long Island Power Authority sent an email to customers this week informing them of a reduction in the “Power Supply Charge,” which includes the cost of fuel.

LIPA said the move, which is effective April 1, will save the average customer $6.59 per month.

Read the complete email below:

A Reduction in Your Monthly Electricity Costs

LIPA would like to inform customers that we’ve just reduced one of the main costs on your electric bill – the Power Supply Charge – effective April 1st.

The Power Supply Charge includes the cost of fuel, such as natural gas and fuel oil used at Long Island’s power plants, and electricity we buy directly from other sources.

Recently, several factors have allowed us to reduce this cost:

Plentiful supplies and lower cost of natural gas — the primary fuel used at local power plants Improvements — in how we manage the cost of power, including the expansion of the power sources we purchase from Moving to quarterly, rather than annual, review of fuel costs.

The Power Supply Charge reduction will lead to a decrease in overall cost you pay for energy of 4.3 percent. For the average residential customer, this translates to a monthly savings of about $6.59.

LIPA is working hard to manage those costs under its direct control and provide customers options for doing the same. As consumer and business electronic needs continue to grow, customers can go online to review their account, take an on-line energy audit to assess their usage and manage their electric consumption.

The single best way to lower your electric bills is by being more energy efficient and using less electricity and LIPA wants to help you do that. From low or even no-cost tips, to energy-efficient appliances, to home improvements, LIPA can help everyone use energy more efficiently.

Lowering the Power Supply Charge is a good step. LIPA wants to help customers lower their bills even more, by providing them programs and services to increase their efficiency. For more information, visit www.lipower.org or contact us at 1-800-490-0025 to discuss your bill.