CHICAGO – Homes heated with natural gas will face steep heating bill costs, the result of natural gas production being cut dramatically by the Biden Administration. The cost of natural gas is up 180% percent.
In Chicago, bills could be 35% higher than last year. It could be even higher in the suburbs, Crain's reports.
For the average Chicago household, assuming normal winter weather, the five-month heating bill will be around $938, or $188 a month on average, according to a Crain’s analysis, using data from Peoples Gas combined with gas-price futures. The projection jibes with what Peoples anticipates, a spokeswoman said.
That would be a 35% increase over last year’s average household gas bill over the official five-month heating season of $693, or $139 a month.
And while that's a substantial hike, Crain's says suburban home owners will be hit even harder.
The increase is expected to be higher in the suburbs. Nicor Gas projects a five-month heating bill for the average household in its vast suburban territory of $674, or $135 a month. That’s up 48% from $455 last season.
And Biden's to blame? Here's what Forbes said in January 2021 entitled "Biden May Kill A Quarter Of U.S. Oil And Gas Production," just after Biden was sworn in and stopped natural gas access on federal lands.
Still, the ban will deliver a massive blow to the U.S. hydrocarbon industry. If the Secretary of Interior makes the order permanent, and if the Republican minority fails to find the votes in Congress, then the order may be lifted only by the next Administration. However, there is no guarantee Biden’s successor will be a Republican. The energy industry might be prepared to weather two months or even tighten its collective belt for four years of the moratorium, but what if the ban lasts eight years? The private sector abhors uncertainty.
