Burning Cash ; Heating Costs Will Sock You in the Wallet

Summary

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The cold winds haven't even started blowing out of Canada yet, but North Jersey homeowners are already shuddering when they think about the cost of keeping warm this winter.

With natural gas and fuel oil wholesale prices more than doubling in the past 16 months, consumers face record heating bills. Natural gas consumer prices are already about 10 percent higher than last October, and rates are likely to increase up to 10 percent more by February. Fuel oil consumer prices, which are already up almost 30 percent, often increase in midwinter, when demand is highest.

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Extract

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Burning Cash ; Heating Costs Will Sock You in the Wallet

But it could be worse.

Natural gas has risen 108 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange - from $6.52 per million British thermal units in July 2004 to $13.58 on Wednesday - but North Jersey's two major gas companies have kept rates somewhat in check through hedging programs.

By law, utilit...

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