Winter heating bills may burn through wallets

WASHINGTON -- Consumers may be enjoying some relief at the gasoline pump, but another energy shock likely is just around the corner.

Winter bills for heating oil, natural gas and electricity are expected to soar to records, putting a renewed crimp on household budgets.

Heating oil customers are forecast to see the biggest increases, according to the Energy Information Administration, the non-partisan statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department. Heating oil users will pay $2,644 on average to heat their homes this winter, up 36.3% from last year. Homeowners with natural gas, the most popular heating source in the USA, will pay $1,059, a 23.8% increase, according to the EIA's early forecast.

The EIA's projections are based on government meteorologists' expectations for a winter that is colder than last year but warmer than the average seen from 1971 to 2000. An especially cold winter ...