Madison residents can look forward to less costly heating bills this year, according to a survey released last week by the Wisconsin Department of Administration's Division of Energy.
The survey reported that the price of heating oil has decreased by 16.3 percent, the price of liquid propane gas has decreased by 20.9 percent, and the price of natural gas has decreased 18.4 percent since November 2000.
\We think that prices are going to be lower for the season,"" said Jim O'Neil of the Division of Energy, which called about 20 fuel oil retainers, asked their prices and then averaged those prices to obtain its data.
More than three-fourths of Midwest households use natural gas for some purpose, according to U.S. Department of Energy statistics.
""Natural gas prices this year are down almost 30 percent so you can probably expect 25 percent to 35 percent decreases in heating bills,"" said Steve Kraus of Madison Gas and Electric.
Kraus said the Sept. 11 attacks were a primary reason that natural gas prices have decreased.
""Forty percent of natural gas use is industrial, and the industry is down,"" Kraus said, which has caused a drop in demand for natural gas.
O'Neil cited many reasons for the decreased prices, including cool weather this summer, which caused less natural gas to be used, and high prices last year that led to increased exploration.
""They've found more natural gas. Storage of natural gas is about 15 percent more than last year,"" O'Neil said.
Lower prices are especially good news for residents hit by increases in heating bills last winter.
""Heating prices almost tripled last year from the previous year,"" said Megin Hicks, director of the Tenant Resource Center, 1202 Williamson St.
Hicks said students who lived in a house or smaller apartments last year generally felt the impact of the price increase more than those who lived in large apartment complexes.
""[Prices] were really high last year,"" said UW-Madison senior Brenda Burke, who pays heating bills in her apartment, which is in a three-unit building.
Students were not alone in their frustration with high utility costs last year.
""Owners who had included [utilities] in the rent took a pretty big hit [last year],"" said Noah Fiedler, executive director of the Madison Area Apartment Association, but he added it was too early to predict the effects of lower utility costs.
According to Hicks, tenants this year may be shouldering the burden of last year's high costs.
""The heat may have used to be included [in rent], when it's not anymore, or [owners] may have raised the rent to offset the costs [from last year],"" Hicks said.
