Many Missouri households can look forward to spending $78-$221 more on their home heating bills this winter, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Energy Center’s bi-weekly energy bulletin.
The cost of both natural gas, which 57 percent of Missouri households use to heat their homes, and propane, which meets 13 percent of the home heating needs, are expected to rise, the Energy Bulletin said, citing the Winter Fuels Outlook released Oct. 9 by the Energy Information Administration.
Natural gas users can expect to spend an average of $78 more on winter heating, while propane users could be looking at a $221 average jump. Actual increases will be influenced by local weather conditions, market size and the size and energy efficiency of individual homes.
On Oct. 10, natural gas futures closed at $7.01 per MMBtu, an increase of $1.20, or 21 percent, in the past month. According to the Energy Center’s bi-monthly winter heating season propane survey, the average retail price for residential propane was $1.85 per gallon last Tuesday, an increase of 15.1 cents from last month and 23 cents, or 14 percent, higher than the $1.62 per gallon price at this time last year.
Crude oil prices remained high through Oct. 11, with futures for November delivery on the NYMEX settling at $81.30 per barrel, up 7 percent over last month and 37 percent over the same period in 2006.
On Oct. 8, Missouri’s average retail price for regular unleaded gasoline was $2.57 per gallon, down nearly 19 cents from the average retail price a month ago, but up 27 percent from the same period last year. Diesel prices on Monday averaged $2.97 per gallon, up 4 percent from last month and 24 percent from last year.