Utilities Differ on Heating Cost Estimates
Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy expects an average customer will pay a few dollars less than last year, but Alliant Energy, which has a division office in Cedar Rapids, expects the average bill to be up 9.6 percent. The numbers:
• MidAmerican, a bill of $766.91 for the average residential customer to heat their home from Oct. 1 through April 30. That’s $3.34 less than last year. The decrease is less than 1 percent.
• Alliant, a bill of about $900 for the period Sept. 1 through March 31. That’s up $79, or about 9.6 percent, from last winter’s average bill of $818.83.
Spokesman for the two companies attribute the differences to the formulas used to make the estimates.
Alliant, for example, puts a lot of weight on estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said Ryan Stensland, an Alliant spokesman.
Allan Urlis, a MidAmerican spokesman, said MidAmerican puts less stock in administration estimates because they don’t take into account factors such as buying practices of different utilities.
Estimates for both companies are based on expectations that winter weather will be about the same as last year, which was a little warmer than normal.
A much colder winter would mean more usage and higher bills, and a much warmer winter would mean lower bills, Stensland and Urlis said. Prices also could go up if a hurricane in the southern United States or some other unexpected event disrupts supplies, they added.
State climatologist Harry Hillaker said this winter is expected to be slightly warmer than normal like last year, although it could turn out to be somewhat colder depending on the effects of a Pacific Ocean weather pattern known as La Niña.
Prices are up so far for two other heating fuels, propane and heating oil.
Current propane prices in Iowa are up about 18 percent from a year ago and heating oil is up about 25 percent, said Brian Crowe, an energy analyst for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
