There was an incident in Omaha yesterday.
The family has requested that ‘We appreciate the media’s respect of our privacy in this time of mourning.’
I’m sad that the media didn’t appreciate the families request.
It happened, now move on to something else. IE, Like the heating bills are supposed to be about 11 percent lower than last season.
‘Great news’ about heating bills
People struggling with tight budgets can turn on their furnaces this fall with a little reassurance: The cost of natural gas is expected to be about the same or even lower than last year.
That projection for Nebraska and Iowa residents could change, however, depending on how cold it gets or whether there is a disruption in supply from, say, a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico or a broken pipeline. But so far, so good, say officials of the Metropolitan Utilities District, Black Hills Energy and MidAmerican Energy, the area’s main natural gas retailers.
“That’s great news in comparison to what I see in other things,” said Jerry Cook, a retiree and Black Hills customer in Bellevue. “My auto and home insurance has gone up, even though inflation is about zero.”
MUD officials say the price it charges for natural gas could be about 11 percent lower than it was last winter. Actual gas bills in the Omaha area, if winter weather is normal, could be as much as 21 percent lower from October through March.
Last winter, it was 12 percent colder than normal in Nebraska, and the average MUD residential customer paid $463 for natural gas during the six-month heating season. This year, that could drop by about $98 to $365.
If the weather is warmer this winter, officials at Black Hills and MidAmerican said, natural gas bills could be even lower.
The cost of natural gas makes up two-thirds to three-quarters of a customer’s monthly bill, the utilities said. Fees also are charged for storage, transportation, services and, in some cases, infrastructure.
Actual bills also vary depending on outdoor temperatures, a home’s size and insulation, and where the thermostat is set.
Most Midlands homes are heated with natural gas. A smaller number rely on electricity, and propane is the most common heating fuel for rural homes.
Major reasons to expect stable or lower natural gas prices include the lack of big storms this year in the Gulf, increasing supplies of natural gas from new sources and low industrial demand because of the struggling economy, utility officials said.
“We’re certainly not talking about any spikes or shortages,” said Neil Gamson, an economist at the Energy Information Administration, a statistics agency for the U.S. Department of Energy. “That’s always possible when a hurricane strikes or a pipeline breaks.”
The amount of natural gas stored in the United States was about 6 percent higher this month than the five-year average, federal officials said.
Prices at the wellhead have held steady since the beginning of last year, with quarterly averages of somewhere between $3.17 and $4.79 per 1,000 cubic feet. Prices are projected to stay in the $4 range through the winter.
Futures prices have dropped recently, based on a less rosy economic forecast and more-than-adequate natural gas supplies, Gamson said.
Utilities generally buy most of a heating season’s gas supplies in advance, hoping to lock in lower rates. South Dakota-based Black Hills, for example, buys about 70 percent of its supplies in the spring and summer, with the rest purchased at market rates on a monthly basis during the heating season, said Dan Mechtenberg, vice president of gas operations in Nebraska.
At Black Hills, which serves Council Bluffs, other Iowa towns and 106 communities in eastern Nebraska, the cost per unit of natural gas is expected to stay about even with last year’s cost, officials said.
Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy also said the price should be about even with or lower than last year’s price. The utility expects to charge customers about 84 cents per therm during the heating season, from October through March, about 5 cents per therm less than last year, spokeswoman Ann Thelen said.
A therm is a heat measurement roughly equivalent to burning 100 cubic feet of gas. Most residential customers use an average of 700 therms during the heating season.
Last year, the average MidAmerican residential customer paid about $566 for natural gas from October through March. Based on the same usage but a slightly lower price, the bill could be $538 this season, or about 5 percent less, she said.
Contact the writer:
444-1117, joe.ruff@owh.com