Your home heating bill could be the same or lower than last year. Here’s why

By Kristina Rex

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    ANDOVER, Massachusetts (WBZ) — There is snow in the forecast for parts of Massachusetts Thursday and a lot of people have already turned on their heat for the winter.

Ray Jacquet is feeling better about the comfort of his home in Andover. That’s after a crew from 128 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, & Electric installed a new, more efficient heat pump to replace his electric baseboards.

“I’m actually not that worried about it anymore because I’ll have a warm home,” Jacquet told WBZ-TV.

Part of the motivation is the price.

“A lot cheaper,” he said.

The good news is your home heating bill could be lower this winter.

“More than 50% of homes here in New England are heated with natural gas and natural gas prices, well, they’re sort of bouncing around in a narrow range,” explained Boston University Questrom School of Business Economist Jay Zagorsky.

“They haven’t been plummeting like home heating oil, and they haven’t been rising like electricity prices. So, it’s not necessarily going to be a joyous holiday season. But it’s not going to be a bah humbug either.”

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, prices are expected to remain stagnant on average throughout the country this year.

In the Northeast, the agency predicts:

• Natural gas: 1% increase • Electric heat: 5% increase • Propane: 1% increase

The real benefit comes for people who heat their homes with oil, according to Zagorsky.

“If you happen to be one of those one in five families that happen to heat your home with home heating oil, you’re going to have a wonderful winter holiday. Why? Because home heating oil prices have dropped for the last two years in a row,” he told WBZ.

In addition to a relatively stable market for the price of home heating from all sources, the weather is a big factor. Both WBZ’s Winter Weather Outlook and NOAA predict a milder winter, meaning no need to crank the thermostat.

“It is pretty cold today, but over the next three months the government assumes that it’s not going to be as cold as it normally is, and that means less need to spend money on energy, such as electricity, heating oil, or natural gas,” Zagorsky said.

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