Natural gas bills likely to rise like hot air

Natural gas official says heating costs could be as high as 49 percent more than last year.

With already elevated natural gas prices and Hurricane Katrina's damage to natural gas processing facilities in the Gulf, heating bills are expected to soar this winter.

"They should be about 30 to 49 percent above last year," said Steve Green, a spokesman for Atmos Energy, which serves Jackson, Malden and Caruthersville.

Last week the U.S. Energy Information Administration said parts of the Midwest could see increases of more than 70 percent in its residential per-household expenditures for fuel this winter, but Green said energy customers in Southeast Missouri won't see their rates go quite that high because Atmos buys and stores natural gas.

"Between storage and our supply at a contracted price, we're covered for about 50 percent of the natural gas needed for the winter," Green said. "The other 50 percent we'll have to get at the higher market price."

Likewise, Mike Cleary, a spokesman for AmerenUE, which serves Cape Girardeau, said most of his company's gas is in storage and already under contract. That will help minimize the impact of higher market prices due to Hurricane Katrina, he said.

"We do have a lot of gas available at prices lower than what the market is expected to reach this winter," he said.

Natural gas prices were already on the rise before the hurricane hit the Gulf Coast and damaged about 16 percent of natural gas processing facilities, Green said.

"I think around 10 percent of the facilities are back online down there," Green said of the damaged structures. "I don't know if they're at full capacity or not."

Before Hurricane Katrina, AmerenUE officials predicated an average increase of about $10 per month in a residential customer's natural gas bill, excluding taxes.

"The current numbers don't reflect the impact of the hurricane," Cleary said.

Cleary said that AmerenUE will release another price prediction to the public again in mid-October.

"We want to see the same cheap, affordable rates as our customers do," Green said. "It's certainly in our prayers that the cost of natural gas will go down in the future."

Green said there are several things customers can do this winter to minimize the costs of their heating bills.

"Try to reduce all air leaks, make sure the doors and windows in your house are sealed, make sure the house is well-insulated," he said. "If you keep your house at 70 degrees instead of 72, it will make a difference in your bill."

Both Atmos Energy and AmerenUE provide customers with budget billing, which enables the customer to avoid big seasonal changes in their monthly energy bills by spreading those costs evenly throughout the year.

jfreeze@semissourian.com