COLUMBUS, Ohio – The cold January weather has helped contribute to higher heating costs by putting a higher demand on natural gas, propane and heating oil supplies at the same time that transmission problems slowed down delivery of the product.
Columbia Gas says natural gas bills will jump by an average of $6 this month because of a spike in energy usage during the cold snap the first week of the month.
Customers can save a few dollars during this Arctic blast by programming their thermostat to run cooler when they’re not at home
The price of propane is also on the rise because of a combination of factors affecting the supply, said David Field, executive vice president of the Ohio Propane Gas Association.
A large, wet grain crop, which required large amounts of propane to be dried prior to storage, reduced propane inventories in the Midwest, Field said. And, just as the harvest demand ended, a massive winter storm rolled across much of the state, keeping demand high.
Modifications and upgrades being made pipelines slowed the transportation of propane to the Midwest while exports were increasing. All these factors combined to prevent regional inventories from recovering, Field said.
Federal transportation officials in the Midwest have issued a regional order which will allow truckers drive longer to bring more propane to consumers. The regional order affects Ohio and 23 other Midwestern and Northeast states. Gov. John Kasich also issued an emergency declaration, freeing truckers hauling propane from restrictions on the number of hours they can operate.