Winter Fuels

Winter Fuel Outlook
Consumer expenditures for home heating this winter are expected to be lower than last winter. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average winter heating bill for all fuels is expected to increase 1.4 percent, or by nearly $14, to $1,004. For those households heating with heating oil, prices could be down 13.3 percent, or about $259, to an average expenditure of $1,694. Only 7 percent of U.S. households depend on heating oil for winter fuel and most of these households are in the Northeast, where 31 percent of households use heating oil as their primary space heating fuel. EIA’s forecasts for homes heated with other fuels include an average price drop of 8.1 percent for propane, an increase of 3.6 percent for natural gas, and 9.5 percent for electricity.

What should consumers expect this winter?

U.S. Energy Information Administration provides a Winter Fuels Outlook that projects prices for the upcoming winter season as well as comparisons with past years. Please also see EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook and API's own weekly report, U.S. Distillate Fuel Update, on fuel supplies, including heating oil supplies.

Heating Oil
Refiniers make heating oil from crude oil, which is also the raw material for other petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel. To learn more about heating oil, please see the information below or visit API's Facts on Fuel heating oil page.

Approximately seven percent of American households - some 8.1 million in total, with nearly one-third in the Northeastern states - rely on heating oil to keep warm in winter. Late summer is a good time for consumers to further winterize their homes to help reduce fuel use (and save money) and to explore options for purchasing winter supplies, including seasonal contracts with heating oil companies that may offer price advantages.

Heating Oil Prices: An API Fact Sheet
Forecasts from the U.S. government and private groups are predicting higher heating oil prices this year than last, and many Americans want to know why. API has assembled this fact sheet to help consumers better understand why heating oil prices are forecast to be stronger this year than last, and what steps they can take to lower their own consumption. View/Download
Size: 96 KB | Date: November 14, 2008 | License: Free

Heating oil supplies
As the weather grows colder, refineries manufacture most (about 90%) of the heating oil consumers need, but they also draw on supplies produced earlier in the year.

Northeast Heating Oil Reserve
Maximum inventory of heating oil in the reserve will be two million barrels. The Department of Energy believes that a two-million-barrel reserve will provide relief from weather-related shortages for approximately ten days, which is the time for ships to bring heating oil from the Gulf of Mexico to New York Harbor. See EIA's information on the Northeast Heating Oil Reserve.

Consumers and heating oil
Ever wonder where heating oil comes from? Or why prices fluctuate? Or even how you can help to lower your heating oil bills? Residential Heating Oil Prices: What Consumers Should Know by the U.S. Department of Energy helps answer some of those questions.

Lowering your heating oil bill
The Federal Energy Management Program provides additional tips on how consumers can conserve to reduce their home heating oil costs. For more information, download the PDF below.

Download - Lowering your heating oil bill
File Size: 14.4 KB | License: Free

Help paying heating bills
You may be able to get financial aid to help pay your heating bills this winter. The federal LIHEAP program (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) gives money to states to help qualifying families pay their heating bills.

Natural Gas
Natural Gas is a clean burning domestic energy source that powers our economy. It cools and warms our homes and businesses and is used to generate electricity. Natural gas is used in over 60 million homes. In addition, natural gas is used in 78 percent of restaurants, 73 percent of lodging facilities, 51 percent of hospitals, 59 percent of offices, and 58 percent of retail buildings.

Heat with propane or natural gas?
For information about propane, go to the U.S. Energy Administration's Propane Prices: What Consumers Should Know. To learn about natural gas, please visit API's natural gas page and also the natural gas section of the U.S. Energy Information Administration's website.