Natural gas costs to drop this heating season

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Updated: March 1, 2012 9:45AM

As a veteran of many Chicago winters, I’m not accustomed to delivering hopeful news about our heating bills, but this season Chicago-area consumers are in the unique position to actually save money.

In January, the federal Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook predicted that Midwest natural gas users could spend 9.1 percent less to heat their homes this winter compared to last, for estimated average savings of $72. Plus, based on past performance, people using our free online service, CUBEnergySaver.com, could potentially save an additional $77 on gas and electric bills by practicing energy efficiency. That’s a total potential savings of $149.

Expand those estimates to roughly 3.26 million households across northern Illinois, and potential savings reach $485 million. That could take one big bite out of recent utility rate hikes in the region.

Since its launch in 2010, CUBEnergySaver.com has shown consumers how to slash their electric and gas bills by a total of $1.9 million. It’s a free service that gives consumers on any budget hundreds of actions they can take to save money. Consumers also are rewarded for those reductions with points that are redeemed for shopping and restaurant discounts.

And there’s more good news. Late last year, Illinois utilities reported that heating prices could remain low into 2018, thanks to increased gas production and record-level inventory. The mild start to winter also helped. But does anybody really think their gas bills are low? You know what they say about Chicago: If you don’t like the weather, just blink! We all know that our hiatus from high heating prices could end in the relative blink of an eye, with a cold snap, an economic rebound, and other factors that push up the price of natural gas.

Nobody, especially in Chicago, should rely on the weather or the potentially volatile gas market to lower their bills. There are simple actions anybody can take — as easy as closing the blinds on winter nights, nudging down your thermostat, or reducing the water heater temperature to 120 degrees — that will cut your costs year after year.

Utilities sometimes nickel and dime us to death. Energy efficiency and CUB Energy Saver will help you nickel and dime them right back.

David Kolata is executive director of the Citizens Utility Board.