Without last winter’s mild weather, we’ll spend more on heating

By Kevin G. Hall

McClatchy Washington Bureau

The coming winter will be both colder and costlier.

That’s the short-term energy and winter fuels outlook issued by the Energy Information Administration.

“Forecast average household expenditures for heating oil, propane and natural gas are 38 percent, 26 percent and 22 percent higher than last year, respectively, because of higher expected demand and higher fuel prices” the EIA said.

Forecasters predict temperatures will be 3 percent warmer than the 10-year average. But it will colder than last year, an aberration that was 15 percent warmer than the 10-year average.

Prices for the three main sources of winter heating are not far off of last year’s low levels, but consumers are expected to spend more because last year’s unseasonable warmth required less home heating.

Roughly half of U.S. households heat with natural gas, and those prices are expected to be 11 percent higher than last winter, with consumption of natural gas for heating forecast to be about 10 percent higher than last winter. It’ll cost more, and the nation is expected to consume more.

— McClatchy