Heating prices expected to rise
Originally published 01:38 p.m., October 9, 2007
Updated 01:38 p.m., October 9, 2007
Home heating costs are likely to rise significantly this winter, according to federal energy officials.
So far in Emporia, propane prices are 10 cents higher than last summer, said Jim Sheperd, owner of S&S Oil and Propane Co. The cash price for propane this morning at S&S was $1.65 a gallon.
“It’s been moving up the last couple of weeks,” Sheperd said of propane prices. “The future is unpredictable for anybody. It’s so hard to guess what’s going to happen.”
Heating a home with natural gas could cost an average of about $1,200 this winter, up from $1,000 last year, according to projections by the Energy Information Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The cost for homes using heating oil is expected to increase to about $1,480 from $1,220 last year. Electricity prices are rising, along with propane, too.
Natural gas prices in Kansas, however, are lower than last October, said Kansas Gas Service spokesman Steve Johnson. The cost that the company pays for natural gas today is $6.88 a thousand cubic feet compared to $7.97 in October 2006.
“They’re considerably lower now than last year, which is a good start,” Johnson said. “If this continues throughout the winter, (customers) may gain quite an advantage over last winter.”
He added that the company encourages “our customers to conserve energy as much as they can. Insulation in attics ... plastic sheeting on windows, new thermal windows, keeping temperatures lower, all those type of things help.”
Johnson said, though, that the “winds of change can come immediately if the markets think that gas could become more scarce because of cold weather. National markets are set in New York and on the (East and West) coasts.
“It depends on how cold it’s going to be this winter in the Northeast. (They have to take) those factors into consideration when gas is set on the national markets.
“It’s totally out of our control, except to set the price as low as we can every month. It’s hard to tell...there are no real solid projections. We hope (prices) will stay as low as they are today.”
A mild winter could help hold down fuel use, Sheperd said. Many of his customers order fuel oil and propane deliveries in late summer or early fall.
“A large percentage of our customers — 50 to 60 percent — pre-purchase for the winter,” Shepherd said. “An average customer has a 500-gallon tank. We don’t fill it clear full, about 400 to 425 gallons. Most we have on a route and adjust according to the weather and their usage. We don’t want them to run out.”
S&S is in its 49th year of providing heating oil and propane and some of Shepherd’s customers have been with him that long.
On the other end of the spectrum is Bill Wessell, member service manager of Flint Hills Energy in Council Grove, who is about to experience his first winter in the propane business.
“It’s true the rates are going up constantly,” Wessell said. “If you’re a customer on our route, you’re paying $1.69 (a gallon) and if you’re not on our route, it’s $1.79.”
Wessell said the highest prices are paid by customers who run out of propane and don’t have an ongoing relationship with the company.
“They’ll get charged for a special trip ... our head drivers have a good feel of what’s going on so that doesn’t happen.”
Other dealers who supply propane in the area quoted their current prices this morning: Neosho Valley (formerly Jem), $1.65; and Ferrell Gas, $1.52.
LosCangrejos (anonymous) says...
I wonder what Cindy will think of that cartoon.
October 9, 2007 at 1:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
What?
October 10, 2007 at 10:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
Been wondering about the gas company in Americus.Seems there's an investigation by the KCC into the utility companies owned by the owner of Americus Energy LLC.Most of us up here already know what a doubling of the gas price is all about from last winter.Say,here's a way for the city of Emporia to raise some capitol! Throw your gas company out-buy gas at the spot market price- bill it to the Emporia customer at double that price + $20-don't read the meters,estimate usage-don't apply a $350 check to the bill,cash it and ignore payment! Doesn't matter that the price is rising,you just use the formula of 2X + 20. It works in Americus,but it's a private company doing it.It will be 18 months before it's looked into.And 2 to 2/12 years before action is taken. And money fell from the sky the whole time! Try it,Emporia.You'll make buckets of money!
October 10, 2007 at 9:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )