Home heating bills likely going up this winter

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Sep 17, 2008 at 10:43 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 18, 2008 at 6:54 AM EST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Home heating bills could rise as much as 25 percent this winter because of higher costs for natural gas, two central Indiana utilities say.

Vectren Corp., which serves 568,000 customers in 48 counties, said Wednesday that bills could increase from 15 to 25 percent. Citizens Energy Group, which covers Marion County and Westfield, said residential customers could see increases of 15 to 20 percent.

"We wanted to get this message out earlier so customers have more time to prepare both their homes and budgets for the upcoming heating season," Vectren President Carl Chapman said.

Vectren normally issues its winter bill projections in October.

A 15 to 25 percent jump would cost customers an additional $100 to $200 for November through March. Last year, a typical Vectren residential customer paid $680 over that period. Citizens said its typical residential customer would pay $939 in gas bills for the coming heating season, an increase of $158.

The federal government will give more than $2.5 million to Indiana to help low-income families pay heating bills in the winter, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said Wednesday.

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com

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