Holy Sh*t!!! I just opened my heating bill for the upcoming season

[RebelYell]

My natural gas budget has gone from $29, $38, $44, $64 last year to....are you ready? $126 ! ! ! ! !

It has doubled! Have any of you out there experienced the same shock over their heating bills?

[librechik]

1. why isn't yours 400 a month like mine?

ours tripled last season, and I don't even know what'll happen this year...

[RebelYell]

3. That's expensive, wow

We have a very small house and keep the thermostat at 60 at all times during the winter. We use a small electric heater when we shower so the bathroom is warm.

My budget went up only $20 last year. I'm in Ohio, BTW.

[aquart]

2. Remember when they said electing an oil man would keep energy prices down?

[RebelYell]

5. De-regulation

About 4 or 5 years ago, we were allowed to chose our natural gas supplier. We sign a contract every year, and I choose the supplier with the lowest cost, naturally.

Natural gas has now gone the way of cable, phone and electric rates due to de-regulation.

[ronnykmarshall]

4. You get it in advance?

'splain Lucy, 'splain!

[RebelYell]

7. We have a "budget"

For 11 months out of the year, I pay the same amount. Month 12 is a reconciliation of your account - a credit or the balance, which has been usually under $10. So I know they're looking at previous usage to get to a monthly rate.

It was easier for us because we could budget in the same amount every month, instead of $300 gas bills in the winter.

[ronnykmarshall]

9. That's a good idea.

[bearfan454]

6. My gas bill is under $25.00 in the summer

But the electric is about $170.00. The gas goes up in the winter to about $40.00 and the electric goes down to about $90.00

[RebelYell]

8. Ok, ok, I'll stop complaining :)

My electric bill is about $70 in the summer and $30 in the winter. We have one window A/C and a very small house.

[catmandu57]

10. We're on level pay

currently we pay 86.49 per month, summer and winter. I've heard of other people's gas spiking even though they were on the level pay, so far we've been fortunate to stay where we are.

[underseasurveyor]

11. Our electric is on budget billing.

They re-evaluate every 6 months to determine whether to increase of decrease your monthly payment amount. Strangely it has never decreased, imagine that. Before the 2000 theft, our monthly rate remained fairly steady for the previous 3 years. Averaging around $70.00 a month and we started around $55.00. Since that time it has steadily increased and we now pay $130.00 per month.

We also heat with propane. Our tiny town has no natural gas supply. Again before 2000, the average summer fill up price when propane is at it's cheapest, was 35 to 50 cents per gallon. Then as winter draws near the price of propane increases due to higher demand but usually topped out around 80 cents per gallon in peak winter usage. Most folks contract a certain amount of propane during the summer fill-up price, basically you promise to purchase so many gallons at the locked-in low price.

Since 2000 propane prices have increased steadily and the summer fill up prices are remaining much higher. This year, our summer fill-up price, when it's suppose to be the CHEAPEST time to buy?! Is at 98 cents a gallon. So instead of costing 500 dollars, this winter will take one thousand dollars to get us through. And I always have kept my thermostats low, plus plastic on the windows inside and out to better keep those howling winds from sucking the heat out.

This year, fuck it! I'm going to wrap my entire house house in plastic and duct tape :evilgrin: (think i'm kidding? not this winter)