Plan to keep your house warm this winter? Bend over.

A projected spike in natural gas costs would hit the Midwest harder than the rest of the country this winter, pushing up bills an average of $522 per season per household, according to a federal report released Wednesday.

The Energy Information Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, projects an average household natural gas cost of $1,377 in the Midwest, up 61 percent over last year.

While this has been a topic of discussion for some time, it's a serious issue. Legislators and Gov. Blagojevich have issued calls for congress to increase funding for LIHEAP, or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the federal program established to help subsidize energy bills for those in need and at risk this winter. As should come as no surprise, the Republicans had actually cut the funding for this program last year leaving it with even less money than usual in the face of this crisis.

It's probably a smart idea to consider adding insulation to your home if it needs it, as well as breaking out the caulk and ensuring your house is as tight as possible. The money spent now will pay for itself in the future, as much like the oil companies, once the utility companies get people used to inflated prices, they're not likely to come back down to prior levels perhaps ever. It seems that the accepted strategy these days is to make enormous price hikes taking advantage of natural events as the reason, and then perhaps dropping the price slightly in the future, with the net effect being that you've raised prices by 30-40 percent with barely a murmur from the public.

In the long-run, these prices are only a fraction of what they will be. Perhaps they're trying to wean the American public to the reality that there will be an energy crisis of unprecidented proportions within the next several decades unless a massive government effort is made to ease the transition away from an oil based lifestyle and economy. But in the meantime, expect oil, gas, and natural gas prices to skyrocket to previously unimaginable levels.


The LIHEAP program in Rock Island County is administered by Project Now. If you or someone you know would like to find out more about the program and eligibility requirements, the Illinois LIHEAP website has the answers.