Indianapolis gas bills drop 21 percent in December

How warm was December? Citizens Gas & Coke Utility says the average residential gas bill fell 21.6 percent from the same month in 2005, to $148.16.

 

Indianapolis homes used an average of 123 British thermal units of natural gas energy compared to the 158.6 units of a year earlier, the utility said. That’s down about the same amount: 22.5 percent.

 

Citizens spokesman Dan Considine said he expects gas prices to plummet if January stays warm. That’s because prices edge up as winter approaches, as markets anticipate normal temperatures with the possibility of a particularly cold stretch.

 

Natural gas futures for February are trading near $6.40 per million cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange—down from $8.32 for January 2007. In January 2006, the price was nearly double: $11.43.

 

The unseasonably warm winter is attributed to El Nino, the disturbance in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

 

Citizens serves most of Marion County along with Westfield.