By Julie Tam
Posted by AJ Whipkey - email
(NBC) - Last winter's record snow storms put the fear in people, when it came time to pay their heating bills.
Unless mother nature hits like this again, it should be a different story this year.
"Last winter, as you know, it was a colder than normal winter. So far this winter, it's maybe a little bit warmer than normal," Atmos Energy V.P. David Park says.
Natural gas rates are about 15 percent lower than they were at this time last year.
So the average consumer could see their bill drop about $17 per month through February.
You can thank the large amount of gas in storage.
Park says, "It's abundant. We're seeing a lot of production from the shale plays and barnett shale and marcellus shale and others that have produced more gas in the market."
A high supply and low demand, because of warmer temperatures throughout the country leads to lower prices.
And consumers are learning to help themselves.
"We're seeing our customers become more efficient year after year after year, by using gas and upgrading their appliances, weatherizing their homes, things like that," says Parks.
Electric customers also should save money this winter. About half of the electricity in Texas is made by natural gas generating plants.
So lower gas prices translates into lower electricity prices.
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