Why Natural Gas And Heating Oil Prices Are Climbing This Winter

As much as we try to ignore what's on the way, winter is coming much sooner than we want to accept, and people all over Western New York, the Empire State, and the United States of America should be getting ready to transition from the summer warmth to the cold and snow that come after autumn.

If you're one of the millions of people who live in areas of the United States where it gets pretty cold during the winter months, you better make sure you start saving your nickels because financial analysts around the nation, along with energy experts, expect that heating costs are going to skyrocket this winter.

According to a news report from WGRZ-TV, the nonprofit National Energy Assistance Directors Association released a report last week that has people all over the place prepping to have to dig a little deeper into thier bank accounts to pay for their natural gas or heating oil this winter.

The cost of heating-related fuels could increase by nearly 10%, which, if you live in an area where you need to run your heat all winter long, would amount to a huge hit to many family and business budgets. When you combine that increase with the high amount of inflation and tariffs that are already hitting the American people, it may be a very rough winter for people if the President and Congress don't do something to help stabilize costs.

Most people in Western New York use natural gas, propane, heating oil, or electricity to heat thier homes, and all of those forms of energy are looking at near double-digit price increases if things don't change. The energy futures markets have all shown increases in costs day-to-day.

With reduced federal energy assistance and growing arrearages, millions of households are at risk of losing utility service. About one in six U.S. households is behind on utility bills, with residential utility debt approaching $23 billion.
-National Energy Assistance Directors Association

While states like New York have programs like HEAP available to help with emergency heating costs, if the current trends continue, it may not be enough.