A LONG COLD DARK AND EXPENSIVE WINTER IS COMING
Winter Heating Bills Set To Soar
High Fuel Prices, Low Temperatures Chill the Forecast
By Peter Behr
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, September 15, 2005; Page D01
This summer's gasoline price shock will be followed by a similarly sharp jump in winter heating bills in the Washington area, analysts are warning, and fuel bills will leap even higher if forecasts for unusually cold weather prove true.
Winter heating costs have followed in lockstep with the rise of crude oil and natural gas prices, as supplies of energy commodities strain to keep up with growing demand for fuels worldwide. Natural gas prices paid by consumers have doubled since the beginning of 2000, and the increase in heating oil costs has been almost as great.
Demand already has increased at Mark Killinger's Atlantic Firewood in East Windham, Maine, as steep energy costs are expected nationwide this winter. (By Jessica Rinaldi -- Reuters)
Consumers nationwide are expected to spend 34 percent more for heating oil this winter than last, 52 percent more for natural gas, 16 percent more for coal and 11 percent more for electricity, according to the preliminary winter fuel projection by the government's Energy Information Administration. The heaviest burden should fall on natural gas customers in the Midwest, the EIA predicts, with costs 71 percent higher than last winter.
The winter fuel increases will bring total energy spending for the nation to just over $1 trillion this year, 24 percent higher than in 2004, claiming the biggest share of U.S. output since the end of the oil crisis 20 years ago, the EIA said