LIPA held its public Board of Trustees meeting amid rising fuel costs on Wednesday.

LIPA's senior vice president of power supply says the harsh winter on Long Island and the conflict in Iran are driving up fuel costs.

The utility says it tries to lock in prices ahead of time to reduce impacts on customers, but the global events and weather are still driving up gas and oil costs, and Long Island relies on natural gas to generate electricity.

LIPA and PSEG Long Island say bills have already gone up 15 to 20% since January.

“It’s possible customers could see slightly increased prices here over the next few weeks and months as that conflict resolves. But we’re very hopeful that prices will stabilize and decline as we move into the summer," said Gary Stephenson, senior vice president of power supply at LIPA.

LIPA and PSEG say the higher charges were spread out over several months to make it easier for customers to cope.