Staying warm to cost up to 90% more

U.S. households can expect to pay sharply higher monthly heating bills this winter, with the increases ranging from 45% to 90% in much of the country, utility companies and weather forecasters warn.

Surging energy prices, which have been climbing since spring, come at a time when many households are contending with higher mortgage-finance costs, higher taxes that accompany increased real estate assessments and property-insurance price increases the past two years.

John Tuccillo, former chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, says these creeping demands on household incomes will cut U.S. economic growth by three-quarters to 1 percentage point next year. Raphael Bostic, a professor of urban economics at the University of Southern California, says fixed-income and low-income households will be hardest hit.

Higher energy prices are now the No. 1 concern of most small and midsize business owners, a PNC Financial Services Group survey revealed Thursday. (Story, 5B.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/stayingwarmtocostupto90more

we were sold out by big business. Who are the people going to work for when we lose small and midsize businesses.

This is flat out evil. We're being took like the powere black outs in california scam.

Nobody is going to freeze to death around here.

I fear for those in the frost belt though, especially the sick and elderly.

Florida is good for something, anyway.

your electric prices will skyrocket this winter. You don't think they're going to let anyone escape their price gouging, do you? ;) This is America, a Democracy! That means the fuck everyone equally.

But definitely more fortunate than my family in Upstate NY! :scared:

I already got my notice from the gas company that our bill is going to roughly double. The power company hasn't said anything yet, but I'm confident that they'll screw us, too.

Of course, none of that will have any effect on Bush's great economy! :puke:

FP&L and another Florida power company (forget which one) have agreed not to raise their prices this year, if that's any consolation.

the economic impact won't matter, the economy will already be down the shitter by then. Welcome to the second great depression, courtesy of george w. bush.

Me, I'm prepared to freeze. I thought my $250 February heating bill was bad. I can't wait for $500. That's for 1,400 square feet, too!

That seems astronomically high. Are you in a particularly cold area? That's outrageous.

We're going to have a Dickensian winter and no doubt soon another Triangle Shirt Factory Fire, while we're paying for these monsters' salaries.

we installed it to supplement our furnace (propane) but we found it works so well that our furnace rarely kicks on in the winter (only on the really REALLY bitter cold days). The last time we filled our propane tank was in August of 2003. Well, we had to get some today (tank was at 5%) so I called for a minimum fill (250 gall.) and it cost me $399.13!! ARRRGH! I don't know how anyone who relys on fuel oil or propane as their only source of heat is going to manage this year. It's heartbreaking. Our propane driver told me its going to get MUCH worse.

What are the old and infirm to do? What about the plain poor like myself? How am i supposed to accomodate such a large increase on a fixed disability income?

I have saw it happening already. As summer was waning a few weeks past i removed one air conditioner from the house altogether and only had to run one. I got my power bill the other day and my bill increased 25%, even though using once ac less.

I just hope and pray that we don't have a record cold winter as we may see many die for the sake of greed.

That may be the only solution for some. Double up. The heating, electricity, water bills, trash collection, etc. are then nearly cut in half.

Live like Europeans. Smaller spaces. Our way of life is kinda nutty, anyway, where each small child likely has a separate room.

Not much of an answer for my situation. We already live (5 of us) in a small 2 bedroom home. Thats 2 per bedroom and 1 on the couch. What am i supposed to do, stck folks like cord wood?

Sadly you must have the impression i was someone who lived in a large home. When the true fact is i am a poor sucker, and live in a home smaller than most government project style apartments.

...and I apologize if you think I was being critical. I meant to say that AMERICANS generally live in far more space than they actually need. I also know from people who travel to Hungary and other European countries that the idea of a separate room for sleeping is surprising to them. People sleep in the dining room and common rooms there. Body heat helps, too!

I do so agree with your statement pretty much. My point was not really so much personal, but an example of the millions like myself who live on a very modest income.

I think one of my solutions will be what one poster suggested. I guess we will just have to pick a room to stay in and heat it, and let the rest of the house stay cold.

Will heat the house to the minimum necessary to keep the pipes from freezing. That's it.

It works off electricity, but should provide more heat at a lower cost than the 40 year old baseboard heaters I have. I hope.

I mostly spend my time. Other part of the house, I don't heat. I make sure, I keep the faulcet dripping in cold weather so that pipe don't freez.

this winter!

I don't know what would be safer(est), but please don't switch to something thats not safe

Electricity skyrocketing in price and forcing us to use more oil
to further support their ravenous oil appetite!:tinfoilhat:

:sarcasm:

But maybe it's partially true?:shrug:

I've met plenty of folks that like to keep the house around 70 or so in the winter. We just wear sox and sweaters in the house... Very cozy.

Seriously. We are all being stretched to the breaking point with energy costs, food costs, housing costs, and taxes. At what point will the lame-ass do-nothing elected officials actually give us some relief??? I think we'll see more and more deflections from the dark side as prices continue to skyrocket. They can bitch about Clinton all day long, but man.. we all had it so fucking good under his watch. How did Bush and his republican friends destroy our country so damn fast? how??

I'm still adjusting to it though. I find it chilly during the day, especially if I'm not moving.

I'm sure my sweaters will be getting far more use this year.

evil sons of bitches.

I'm going to be wearing a lot more warm clothes and run my heater only when necessary, which is fortunately not too often. It's not going to be just a matter of price, it's going to be a matter of survival for people in other parts of the country.

My anger at what is happening to this country should help keep me warm anyway.

Last year the gas company tripled their rates on my area, raiding the cost from 90 bucks a month to 300+ bucks for a month.

45% more would bring it up to almost 450 bucks a month
90% would bring it close to 550 bucks a month

Either way, that latter number is almost as much as I pay on rent in one month for my apartment.

...maybe Bush is going to use this to control population and survival of the fittest and richest will be finally implemented by the neocons ...

I have a serious medical condition that requires that my home be heated to a specific temperature. Otherwise I will get very sick. Sure, I have the great "medical discount" which doesn't kick in until I consume over a certain amount of natural gas and electricity.

I have no choice. I am low income and have NO CHOICE.

Thanks for nothing * and Co. ! :grr:

That would be so BADD for business!

:sarcasm:

I'm heating my house with fricken sawdust and corn!!! Suck it Columbia Gas of Ohio!!!

I had a wood stove in my last house, but the thing was massive and the whole downstairs got too hot! Also, the woodburner, a Buck Stove, was a rather messy situation.

Can you recommend a good pellet stove?

Only thing... is if the electricty goes out then the (if you have them) blower fans do not work.

Easily heat a whole house with them and cheaply!! Easy to clean up because the whole pellet burns .. just clean the window of the door from time to time :D

I too am worried for our seniors, infirm and poor up here in a northern state.

In addition to all the usual stuff (sealing windows w plastic, etc.), last winter I began heating only the room I was in (usually an upstairs bedroom, since heat rises) with an electric heater during the times I was home, and tried to arrange my life so that I could do most things for the entire day in that one room... set up computer and t.v. there, brought in non-perishable food, water, hotpot, microwave, etc. from kitchen. Kept whatever food needed to be refrigerated in the basement, and what needed to be frozen outside whenever possible so as to shut off fridge. That and I kept the rest of the house heated in the low to mid-40s.

Also I tried to do whatever work I could, for as long as I could, in publicly heated places like a mall, a coffee shop or the library. It's such a simple solution that I was surprised not more people did the same. Perfect for those with a laptop, but even without can still do stuff like paying bills or writing letters and holiday greetings. Library also works well for most computer stuff (why not use a public computer, might as well since you pay for it anyway) and portable projects like organizing photo album, knitting or whatever. I also discovered that several of our local community colleges allow public use of their library and computers, and actually the computers there are quite a bit nicer than those at the public library.

All those efforts did pay off, as my winter heating bill actually dropped a little when it should have gone up at least 20%.

Maybe we should start a "Suggestions to Stay Warm This Winter on the Cheap" thread. We can probably all learn at least one helpful tip.

You did well.

Also, for those who don't want to store their food outside, or in the basement, newer refrigerators don't use all THAT much electricity, and in addition to keeping your food cold, they add a little bit of heat to the kitchen when the motor runs.

One good way to save is on your water heater. Plan to use all the hot water you plan to use within a period of an hour or two a day. Then turn off the water heater until the next day; then turn it back on an hour or two before you'll need it again. Another option, expensive to buy, but can save in the long run, is a tankless water heater.

Now, if only I could come up with ideas to cool my house and cut the humidity without air conditioning, which needs to run in this area for at least 8 or 9 months a year.

where we are, several miles north of Houston. For us, the problem is staying even semi comfortable in the months of high 90s and 100 degree weather. We do as some of you have suggested, though, in cold weather, we stay in and heat only one room. When we go to bed, the heat is off, and my husband and I use an electric blanket.

We are lucky, though, because no matter how uncomfortable the cold might be here, it probably wouldn't be enough to freeze us to death in the winter, as long as we are in the house and dressed warmly. For the many people who live in cold areas, though, I loathe and despise what Bush and the neocons have done to our country, and the citizens who aren't filthy rich.

Seems like every day = more bad news. I was listening to Bernie Ward late last night, same story; bad news re: power prices this winter. I wonder how many people will freeze to death this winter?

I checked my bill and between the low income rate and the medical discount(s) I'm to get if I use over a specific amount of natural gas, I save a whopping $5.00 this past month.

I hate to think of winter.

:kick:

they will stack bodies on top of each other. These will be the ones that froze to death because their electricity was shut off. A lot of them will be elderly, but also people on fixed incomes, children who are more vulnerable to really low temperatures.

Mark my words - it's going to happen.