GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) — Officials with Wisconsin Public Service and WE Energies have put a dollar amount on the expected price hike in home heating bills this winter.
Customers can expect to pay an extra $40 per month during the winter heating season thanks to a recent spike in the price of natural gas. WPS and WE Energies spokesperson Matt Cullen says prices haven’t been this high in nearly a decade.
“The daily average price has more than doubled this year,” said Cullen. “We do expect that our customers will see an increase in their heating bills as we go into the winter season.”
That $40 estimate factors in temperature trends for the past 20 years. Cullen says there are low or no-cost ways that customers can fight off those higher costs such as sealing windows and doors and getting an annual furnace tune-up to optimize performance.
If those steps still leave you short, Cullen says to reach out to WPS right away to have a payment plan set up or to be directed to state and federal programs that can help. “Congress recently authorized $3.7 billion in federal funding to help low-income customers this winter and WPS also supports state and federal programs that offer customers assistance such as the Keep Wisconsin Warm fund.”
WPS and WE Energies have taken steps to prevent further increases in gas prices by purchasing the product under contracted prices to provide consistency and by storing gas during the summer months for use during the cold season. Officials estimate that these steps have saved customers from an additional 25% hike in prices this winter.
Cullen notes that the cost of natural gas is not marked up by WPS or WE Energies. Customers are charged the same price that the utility paid for the product.
