Cost of home heating up slightly from last winter

While energy prices have fallen dramatically from their summertime highs, the cost of heating homes this winter in Southeast Missouri will be slightly above last year.

The agency responsible for helping lower-income people find money to pay utility bills reports that while demand for help is strong, there is also good news -- unlike some years, the money available will likely be enough to last through the winter.

Customers in Southeast Missouri who rely on Atmos Energy and AmerenUE to provide natural gas will pay slightly more for each hundred cubic feet of gas than they were charged last winter. For Atmos, which serves the Jackson area as well as portions of Scott County, the rate will be about 5.5 percent above last year. AmerenUE customers will pay 10 percent more for gas.

Because of other fixed costs included in the bills, the average Atmos Energy home customer will pay about $22 more, or about 4 percent, over the winter, the Missouri Public Service Commission estimates. AmerenUE customers will pay on average $45 to $51 more, or about 8 percent, over the winter, the PSC said when AmerenUE rates were set Oct. 23. The figures are based on normal weather.

The prices for both companies represent a dramatic drop from the rates charged from March to October. AmerenUE's basic gas rate fell 10 percent from the summer high, while Atmos Energy rates are down more than 17 percent from their high.

Propane costs have also eased from their summer highs but remain above last year's levels. The average price in Missouri on Nov. 5 was $2.15 per gallon, up 8 percent from the same time in 2007.

If gas prices continue to fall, utilities will not reap a windfall, said Kevin Kelly, spokesman for the PSC. Natural gas suppliers may file rate adjustments up to four times a year, he said, and once a year rates are changed to reflect whether customers have paid more for gas than they should have. Any amount that should be returned to ratepayers is reflected in the current rates, he said.

For people who have trouble paying their utility bills, the East Missouri Action Agency is ready with money for those who meet the income guidelines, said Keri McCrorey, community services director for the eight-county agency.

"We have quite a bit of money right now," McCrorey said Friday. "But we are getting a new set of folks coming in. People who were getting by before are not getting by now. Our community services offices are giving out applications to people they have never seen before."

The agency has money from two sources. Federal tax dollars provided $889,000 for the Low Income Heat Energy Assistance Program, and the state has revived the Utilicare program to funnel tax dollars to the agency as well. The exact amount of state help is uncertain. In recent years, the legislature has made an emergency spending bill including the Utilicare funds a top priority when it convenes in January.

Along with money to help pay the bills, the action agency also has winterization kits available with pipe wraps, compact fluorescent light bulbs, spray foam and door sweeps to stop drafts and plastic for windows, McCrorey said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642