Townships that receive impact fee revenues will be interested to note that the commonwealth’s Independent Fiscal Office has released its impact fee estimates for the 2025 revenues, which will be distributed in mid-2026 and are up from the prior two years. 

The IFO estimates show that the average price of natural gas on the New York Mercantile Exchange for 2025 is $3.43, an increase of $1.16 (+51%) from the prior year. Due to the price exceeding $3, the fee schedule increased significantly, along with a statutorily required inflation adjustment. Additionally, the IFO estimates that 450 wells will be drilled in 2025, an increase of 141 wells from the prior year, and the most wells drilled in a year since 2022. New wells pay the highest fee and help offset the impact of aging wells that pay lower fees. As such, the 2025 impact fee estimate is $240 million, an increase of $75 million (+46%) from the prior year. Click here to read the report.