Lower heating costs forecast for Nicor customers this winter

Suburban natural gas customers could see lower heating bills this winter.

With falling market prices for natural gas and a warmer winter predicted, experts said Monday that consumers here and nationwide could pay a lot less that last year. The official percentages are expected Tuesday when the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Association releases its report.

Naperville-based Nicor Gas said costs already have dropped dramatically since a year ago. Nicor customers are seeing natural gas at 39 cents per therm this month, compared to 81 cents in October 2008.

"The great news is we're going into this heating season with the lowest prices we've seen in seven years," said Nicor Gas spokeswoman Annette Martinez. "But we don't know what the heating season has in store in terms of weather."

While weather can be the wild card, utilities are finding that the market price has been dropping so far. That market price is passed directly to consumers without markup. The utilities, however, are allowed to charge another rate for the delivery of that natural gas, which is a separate charge on your monthly bills.

"We're entering this winter with a record volume of gas in storage nationally," said Christopher McGill, managing director of policy analysis for Washington, D.C.,-based American Gas Association.

While McGill declined to predict how that supply will help save on consumers' bills, some reports said Monday that consumers could save as much as 15 percent nationwide. Nicor declined to provide a possible percentage savings.

Nicor, along with other natural gas companies statewide, and the American Gas Association will meet at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday with the Illinois Commerce Commission to talk about their preparation for the upcoming winter season. The meeting will be in the commission's hearing room, C-800, 160 N. LaSalle St., Chicago.

They are expected to provide an overview of the natural gas supplies and prices, data related to fuel in Illinois, as well as customer communication and outreach programs.

One such outreach program is Nicor's reconnection assistance, which has been offered for the second year. The program offers customers, who have been disconnected, a chance to get back online if they pay 50 percent of their outstanding balance and agree to a 12-month payment plan.

So far this year, about 4,000 customers have agreed to reconnect, compared to about 1,400 last year.