Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. (RG&E) will accelerate refunds to natural gas customers totaling $5.7 million, beginning next month.

In an effort to help customers manage higher winter heating bills, RG&E will apply the refunds to customer bills in January, February and March. Normally, such refunds are spread out over 12 months.

The refunds will average about $7.40 per customer for each of the three months. They will be calculated into customer bills. They will not be issued as separate checks.

Winter heating bills will be higher this season because of significant increases in the national market price of natural gas. RG&E does not set or control this price.

Every year, utilities file what are called “reconciliation statements” with the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) showing what they actually spent on natural gas during the previous year, and what they collected from customers based on their earlier forecasts of gas usage and cost. When a utility collects more revenue than it needed to cover gas purchases, the “over-collection” is refunded to customers. When a utility does not collect enough to cover its costs, a surcharge is applied to customer bills.

RG&E sought and received permission from the PSC to issue the refunds during the height of the heating season. Last year, RG&E spent about $160 million on natural gas.