Current Events > Heating bills in the US this winter will be at least 30% higher

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https://apnews.com/article/business-europe-asia-united-states-prices-cc94e4f9bfc479a84639abea2f9de771

After years of unusually inexpensive levels, the price of natural gas in the United States has more than doubled since this time last year. In Europe and Asia, wholesale prices are more than five times what they were a year ago.

The surging costs have coincided with a robust recovery from the pandemic recession, with more homes and businesses burning all forms of fuel. That intensified demand is poised to contribute to higher heating costs in many areas of the world.

Having enjoyed a prolonged period of low prices, consumers of natural gas are facing the burden of far more expensive fuel and the prospect of much higher heating bills this winter.

Consumers got used to very low prices last year, because with the pandemic everything was shut down, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Now, everythings coming back online, industry is returning and natural gas is being used again in very large quantities. And thats pushing up the price.

In Europe and Asia, some companies that rely on natural gas have been forced out of business because of the higher prices. Four small British energy companies failed in recent weeks. Fertilizer producers, which use natural gas as a feedstock, are struggling. So are heavy industries that require significant heat, such as aluminum or cement producers.

Power companies in Europe and Asia are engaged in bidding wars over shiploads of liquid natural gas, thereby driving up the cost. Prices are also spiking in the U.S., which converts some of its natural gas into liquid and ships it to Europe and Asia. Those higher costs are showing up in gas bills for consumers around the globe. Analysts expect those prices to rise further through winter, when customers are most reliant on the fuel.

The main reason natural gas prices have jumped is that demand for fuel has accelerated as economies have recovered from the damage caused by the pandemic. But theres another key factor too: Theres simply less gas on the market.

The factors that have diminished the supply are varied. When the pandemic was raging, oil prices tumbled and producers ran low on money to drill. Once they curtailed drilling for oil, they also retrieved less gas, because most wells pump both oil and gas out of the ground at the same time.
Whats more, Europe burned through significant natural gas last winter to heat homes during frigid weather, leaving storage tanks with little fuel. Then the summer was less windy than usual, so wind turbines didnt generate as much energy as expected. That, in turn, led nations to burn more natural gas, further depleting reserves.

The wholesale price of natural gas in the U.S. has exceeded $5, up sharply from $2 to $3 during most of the past two years. Thats the highest price since 2014, though its well below levels reached in the 2000s, when prices surpassed $10 per million BTU.

For customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia, winter heating bills could be sharply higher. In the U.S., according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, natural gas bills could be as much as 30% more for consumers this winter, with the average cost to heat a home rising to $750, from $572 over the same months last winter.

If we have a cold snap like we did last year, this could get really bad. Europe is already pretty screwed this year.

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I used less electricity last month than I did the same month the year before but my bill was higher.

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Monolith1676 posted...

I used less electricity last month than I did the same month the year before but my bill was higher.

Yeah energy prices are already way higher than last year

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