Heat bills for ND homeowners may be 'frightening'

"This could be a very tough winter, especially if it is a very cold winter," Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer said.

Utility spokesmen said Wednesday that this winter's heating bills for customers who use natural gas may be 30 to 50 percent higher than the previous year's expenses.

Cramer and Commissioners Susan Wefald and Tony Clark said prices for natural gas, which is a common home-heating fuel, have been trending higher this summer, in part because record crude-oil prices are also driving up the prices for competing fuels.

Normally, utilities buy natural gas during the summer, when there is typically less demand, and store it for winter use. However, the higher prices have meant a decline in natural gas storage, Commissioner Tony Clark said Wednesday.

"It is truly frightening when you think about the impact that this could have on winter heating," Clark said.

Spokesmen for Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a division of MDU Resources Group Inc., and Xcel Energy Inc., which provide natural gas service to North Dakota's largest cities, said they expect residential customers will be spending more to heat their homes this fall and winter, unless the weather is mild.

Mark Hanson, an MDU spokesman, said the utility is projecting a $350 increase for average residential home heating bills over five months, from November through March.

"That is without any extreme factors involved," Hanson said. "It is our best guess right now."

In July, MDU residential customers are paying $15.89 for one dekatherm of natural gas, a charge that includes the price of buying the fuel, Hanson said. That is 50 percent higher than the July 2007 price of $10.59, he said.