Home heating prices going up around the nation, but not as high in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — It’s going to cost you more to heat your house this winter. But in Utah, it won’t be as much as some other places around the country. 

Home heating

A new national report shows home heating prices are going up because fuel prices are rising and demand has also gone up since last year, and some areas could pay as much as 40% more.

“Ours are only up 8% in Wyoming, and 9% in Utah,” Don Porter, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy told the Dave and Dujanovic show.  Dominion is Utah’s only regulated natural gas provider.

“People need to realize, this is just because of the price of gas, it’s not because big bad Dominion Energy wants more money when it’s getting cold,” Porter said. 

Where gas is stored

Natural gas companies store gas in the ground in the summer when it’s cheaper and pull it out in the winter, according to Porter. And this last year the companies had to buy a lot more at higher prices.

“Last year they had to burn a lot more gas, and they had to buy a lot more. And we did too, a little bit.” Porter said. 

But, he said, Dominion produces more than half of theirs on their own with wells in eastern Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. 

“So our prices, our rates tend to be really low compared to other parts of the country,” he said. 

Porter also said the company doesn’t make money off the sale of the gas.

“We make money by building and maintaining the system,” he said. “We’re allowed [up to] a certain profit to do that,” he said. Porter also reiterated how regulated their company is. 

“The public service commission keeps a really close eye on everything we do,” Porter said.

Read more:

• Furnaces and fire prevention, is your home safe?
• Home buyers in rural Utah are also feeling the pinch
• Utah homeowners pay nearly 40% more per month than Utah renters

 

 

 

 

 

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