Energy Department warns of higher heating costs

By H. JOSEF HEBERT

Posted By: Zaki Bernoussi

Although global oil prices have fallen, the cost of heating your home during the winter will be a lot more expensive, especially for households that depend on fuel oil, the Energy Department predicted this Tuesday.

The households that use fuel oil can expect to spend an average of $2,388 — or $449 more than last year during the October-April heating season. Natural gas users will pay less than half that, $1,010 on average but still $155 more than last year. Across the board, whether one uses heating oil, natural gas, propane or electricity, costs will be higher, said the agency.

Users of electricity to heat homes will see the smallest increase, about 10 percent on average, followed by propane, 11 percent; natural gas, which is used in more than half of the nation's homes, 18 percent; and heating oil, used widely in the Northeast, 23 percent.

The fact that heating your house is just going to get harder and harder to do is not a good sign for the middle to lower class America. Experts have found that some still have not paid last winters heating bills or this summer's air conditioning costs. Utility shutoffs because of unpaid bills have been running 17 to 22 percent higher in some parts of the country.

To combat this mini crisis, natural gas will be in plentiful supply for the winter. The storage in November is expected to be well above the five-year average. This secret weapon will be what holds that 7 percent of households relying on fuel oil, hopefully it will become the alternative rather than the life raft.

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