Lower gas prices should cut US heating bills this winter: EIA

Washington (Platts)--10Oct2006

Most Americans will pay less to heat their homes this coming winter as
slightly higher demand due to colder weather is offset by sharply lower
natural gas prices, the US Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.
The EIA, in its Winter Fuels Outlook, projected that US households
heating primarily with gas--about 58% of all households--are expected to spend
about $119, or 13%, less this winter than last year on fuel.
Americans households heating primarily with heating oil, about 7% of the
population, can expect to pay on average $91 or 6% more this winter than last,
added the EIA, the statistical arm of the US Energy Department.
US households using electricity as the main source of heat will pay an
average 7% or $58 more than last winter, while those using propane can expect
to pay 1% or $15 less this winter, the EIA said. Electricity is the primary
heating fuel for about 30% of all US households, while propane is the primary
heating fuel for 6% of households.
For natural gas, the biggest impact on price will be the sharply lower
residential prices, which are expected to average $12.23/Mcf this winter,
compared with $14.64/Mcf last winter.
US residential heating oil prices should average $2.46/gal, up from
$2.45/gal last year, while residential electricity prices are projected at
10.1 cents/kilowatt hour, compared with 9.6 cents/kwh last winter, the EIA
said. Propane prices are expected to average around $1.85/gal, compared with
$1.95/gal last year.
--Cathy Landry, cathy_landry@platts.com

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