Thanks to our region’s abundant natural gas resources, consumer heating costs are falling, delivering significant energy savings for local families and small businesses.

As MSC’s Dave Spigelmyer told KDKA-TV this week: “The reason [consumers] are going to pay less to heat their home, cook their food, dry their clothes, heat their hot water is the fact that we’ve got an enormous supply of natural gas right here at our fingertips in their backyard.”

Here’s a look at these savings, by the numbers.

NatGasSavings

  • Thanks to Shale, “It’ll Cost a Whole Lot Less to Heat Your Home” This Winter: The price of natural gas is falling steadily and so are your electric bills. … “There is abundant supply of natural gas in our region right now. That abundant supply is forcing prices lower,” says Lynda Petrichevich of People’s Natural Gas. … The price of Peoples gas is dropping by 18%. Take off another 10%for forecasts of a milder winter and that comes to a 28% decrease — a big drop for the average home. If you spent $152 a month to heat you home last winter it will only cost you only $110 a month this coming winter, and over a five-month span that’s a saving of $210. “The reason [consumers] are going to pay less to heat their home, cook their food, dry their clothes, heat their hot water is the fact that we’ve got an enormous supply of natural gas right here at our fingertips in their backyard.” says David Spigelmyer of the MSC. …. “We’ve gone from a period of scarcity to abundance and from high price to affordability,” Spigelmyer says. So local consumers will continue to reap the benefits — with a few more bucks in their pockets at a time when most folks could use the extra cash. “It’s Christmas they could spend it on Christmas gifts. I’m sure they’ll find a good use for it.” (KDKA-TV, 12/16/15)
  • Natural Gas Delivers “Thinner Bills” This Winter for Consumers, Families: The thinner bills are also due to abundant supplies of natural gas extracted from Pa.’s Marcellus Shale region, said Terrance Fitzpatrick. “The outlook is very good from a consumer’s standpoint.” (York Daily Record, 12/16/15)
  • Northern Tier Residents Benefit from Locally-Produced Shale: The Marcellus Shale boom in the Northern Tier has led to falling fuel prices across the region. Officials from Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Leatherstocking Gas Company met to promote those savings. “$1,800 per year is the estimated annual savings an energy customer saves because of natural gas,” said Cabot’s George Stark. (WBNG-TV, 12/8/15)
  • Marcellus Production Delivers Energy Savings to N.J. Consumers: [South Jersey Gas] notified the state’s Board of Public Utilities today that it is providing a bill credit of approximately $20 million to residential and small business customers. This means the average customer will save about $58 next month. The company provides service to about 370,000 customers in South Jersey. The credit is in addition to a 10.3% rate reduction that took effect in Oct. … “With the availability and close proximity of Marcellus Shale gas to our service area, wholesale natural gas prices have steadily declined and remain low, providing us with the ability to offer this bill credit to our customers. (KYW, 12/16/15)
  • Massachusetts Natural Gas Customers “Get Another Winter Break”: Many Massachusetts residents who heat their homes with natural gas are getting another break this winter. National Grid on Tuesday announced a nearly 5 percent drop in the total bill for the typical residential heating customer, which is expected to save them between $6 and $8 dollars per month. (WFXT-TV, 12/1/15)

With nearly half all U.S. households relying on natural gas as their primary heating source, these important savings are being realized across the nation. Be sure to follow the MSC on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest announcements.