Winter bills expected to be lower for gas heating: Sufficient supply, mild hurricane season cited.

Byline: Mark Reiter

Oct. 31--A good supply of natural gas and a mild hurricane season could equate to slightly lower heating bills this year for northwest Ohioans who heat with natural gas.

"We have near record levels of storage for natural gas, but the unknown variable is the weather," said Chris Kozak, a spokesman for Columbia Gas of Ohio, one of the biggest natural-gas utilities in Toledo, its suburbs, and several nearby counties.

The rate of $1.03 per 100 cubic feet of gas that Columbia Gas of Ohio is charging through November is three cents higher than the rate its customers paid a year ago and nearly 30 percent less than the rate two years ago when the Gulf Coast was struck by two hurricanes.

Jim Halloran, an energy analyst with National City Private Client Group in Cleveland, said stockpiles of natural gas secured by utilities for the winter months, plus the mild hurricane season that is nearly over, bode well for consumers.

"The chance of prices skyrocketing this winter is pretty slim," he said. "It would take a super cold winter for an extended period of time to really seriously diminish gas reserves at this time."

Consumers seeking alternatives to Columbia Gas by going with other marketers should be able to benefit from aggressive plans on fixed pricing offered by others, he said.