Alliant Energy : Winter heating bills may climb slightly with colder weather

We've released our winter heating bill estimate for the 2017-18 heating season.

Heating bills are made up of two components:

• The price of the heating fuel (in this case, natural gas)
• The amount of the fuel used (driven by how cold the winter is)

Last year's winter weather was warmer than normal in our region. Customers needed less energy to stay warm and had lower heating bills than normal.

For the 2017-18 heating season, we expect prices to remain at last year's levels, while weather may be colder and usage may be higher.

If we experience normal winter weather and the price of natural gas remains where it is today on the spot market, it is estimated that our average residential customer could pay $423 in winter heating costs - 8 percent ($32) more than last winter.

Customers generally use more natural gas for heating if the weather is colder.

We expect the price for natural gas this winter to hold steady at levels similar to last year, based on natural gas already purchased and the current spot market price. The cost of the natural gas is listed on the customer bill - without any markup.

The heating season for this estimate is November through March.