Heating Or Eating?

A 300% Natural Gas Price Increase Has Chicago Residents Worried Nationally, Natural Gas Prices Expected To Rise 70% Over Last Year Cold Weather Snap Helping Drive Prices Higher

CHICAGO, Jan. 9, 2001 CBS Natural gas costs are rising fast. (CBS) The Energy Department says natural gas prices aren't rising as fast as it thought — they're rising faster. Experts now estimate Americans with natural gas heat will pay 70 percent more this winter than last.

The previous forecast was 50 to 55 percent, but for many homeowners, especially in the Snow Belt, that's not even the half of it. In Chicago, they're looking at as much as a 300 percent increase over the same month last year, enough of an increase that some residents have a very real concern that they may soon have to choose between heating and eating.

One resident, Princess Davis, couldn't believe her most recent bill. "I was shocked. I couldn't believe what I was seeing," she said, "because it was outrageous."

Living on a fixed income, Davis had budgeted for a higher bill, but even so she was shocked. Last year, she paid $120; this year, $521.

"People are seeing actual bills double, triple -- (go) even higher than that in some cases," said Martin Cohen of the Citizen's Utility Board, a watchdog agency. CUB is handling call after call from homeowners who've just seen their bills and believe there must be a mistake.

"For many people, the bills are simply unaffordable," Cohen said. "You don't have to be a poor person to not be able to pay an $800 bill, and how people are going to be able to afford this remains to be seen."

The government blames record November and December cold for driving demand for natural gas 15 percent higher than it was last year, at a time when there is 30 percent less in storage.

The Energy Department does expect domestic production to increase significantly this year, and imports are expected to rise as well, but none of this will make cost of keeping warm this winter any less painful.

Leaders in a number of states have already tapped reserves to keep the heat on, including Colorado, which announced a new $10 million fund for low-income households. Colorado Governor Bill Owen said he wants to help ensure that Colorado's poorest residents get the help they need.

"What we're trying to do is, on an emergency basis, we're trying to ensure that Colorado has the resources in place to help Colorado's poorest citizen deal with what we feel is going to be a very cold winter," Owen said.

The federal government also freed $300 million in home heating aid.

This winter will also be a trying one for families who fuel their furnace with heating oil. The price per-gallon is nearly 50 cents higher than it was last year and with reserves low and OPEC threatening to cut crude oil production — things could heat up again if temperatures drop and there is a long cold snap.

http://cbsnews.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,260539-412,00.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 09, 2001