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Government Forecasts Record-High Home Heating Costs This Winter

BOSTON (CBS) – The prediction of a colder winter than last year means heating your home is going to cost more. In fact, a new government forecast predicts you could end up spending a record-high.

The report by the US Energy Information Administration details just how much consumers can expect to spend on heating this winter.
Oil customers are expected to have to shell out a record-high average of $2,544 for the winter, according to the report. The estimate is about $450 more than oil customers paid last winter.

Natural gas customers are also expected to have to take a hit with the predicted colder weather.

In the Northeast, the average cost to heat your home with natural gas this winter is expected to be around $1,031. That's a $200 increase from last year's mild winter.

About 32 percent of people in the Northeast rely on oil heat, and about 51 percent use natural gas as their heating source.

Prices per unit are actually down from last year. But last winter's unseasonably warm weather kept costs down for consumers.

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