Americans can expect to pay more for heating their homes this winter, compared with last year, according to an annual government outlook.
The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration in its Winter Fuels Outlook said that the prices of household natural gas and heating oil will rise 15 percent and 19 percent, respectively, for the time period between Oct. 1 and March 31.
“Average expenditures for households that heat with heating oil are forecast to be higher than any previous winter on record,” the agency said.
At the same time, households are projected to pay 5 percent more for electricity and 13 percent more for propane during the coming winter.
Last winter was considered the warmest on record in the eastern United States, but temperatures this winter are expected to be closer to normal.
Kathleen Ryan of Cohoes, in upstate New York, uses heating oil. She told The Associated Press: “You have no idea what Mother Nature is going to bring. They’re already talking about frost this weekend. My costs could double.” But she has a plan for reducing costs: “I’m going to buy a portable heater, an electric heater.”
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