Consumers cope with heating bills that doubled (crosspost)

[phantom power]

WASHINGTON It's been a little warmer than usual lately in some parts of the country. But last month was bitterly cold in places, and some December heating bills are coming in at twice their usual price.

With the milder weather, the federal Energy Information Administration now forecasts the average American will pay about a-thousand dollars to heat with natural gas this season. That's 35 percent more than last year. Heating with fuel oil will cost 23 percent more -- almost 15-hundred dollars.

And people seeking an alternative are finding rising prices as well. Wood pellets for increasingly-popular high-tech stoves have almost tripled in price in the Northeast to five-to-six dollars a bag.

Crossposted in LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2047172&mesg_id=2047172