Increased costs of heating an added burden for northern Illinois residents this winter

When 34-year-old Kara Anderson opened her November gas bill, she said she couldn’t believe what she owed.

In the four years since she bought her 1,200-square-foot duplex in Joliet, the bill never had surpassed $100 – even when frigid temperatures dipped to minus 20 degrees, she said. November’s total: $118.

“I almost fell over when I opened it,” Anderson told Shaw Local News Network. “It was like, ‘What?’ ”

She’s not alone.

Whether by electricity or gas, heating utility bills this winter carry a budget trend that’s flummoxed Americans throughout the year as inflation has squeezed wallets at the gas station, grocery store and at home.

With a bitter cold snap sandwiched around Christmas weekend that plunged northern Illinois into a deep freeze, residents across the region likely will get another unwelcome seasonal gift: a larger heating bill.

Anderson, a travel agent who also works as an interpreter for deaf students, said she plans to pick up more work to help pay those higher bills. She also lowered the heat inside her house to 65 degrees.

She said she plans to stay in one room all winter and heat that with a space heater because her electric bills are more reasonable.

“If I come out of the room with the space heater, it feels like I came outside,” Anderson said.

One reason for higher gas bills is that the price of natural gas has increased, Nicor spokeswoman Jennifer Golz said. Nicor operates, maintains and distributes natural gas to 2.3 million homes across northern Illinois.

“Prices are up everywhere,” Golz said. “They’re up from what we pay at the gas pump, the grocery store. Unfortunately, our energy bills are no different. We are just seeing the price of inflation. There is continued uncertainty and speculation about globally what may happen in the next 12 months – weather patterns, market conditions and then events overseas that all have been impacting the market.”

From November to March, Nicor estimates the average household will use a total of 825 therms, which is the unit used to measure gas, to heat their home this winter, Golz said.

It’s also estimated that customers will pay $1,223 over that five-month period for both gas and delivery, averaging about $245 a month, Golz said. Of that, $971 is only paying for natural gas. That’s much higher than last year’s price, when natural gas cost about $524 over that five-month period.

Gas prices were set to go up by about 68% when comparing November rates for this year and last, data from the Illinois Commerce Commission shows.

Last year, starting in November, a therm from Nicor costed 68 cents, while this year it will cost $1.14, according to historical ICC data. This new total has more than quadrupled the cost from two years ago, which was about 28 cents.

The cost of gas usually makes up between 50% and 60% of a residents’ gas bill, Golz said. Rising natural gas prices have pushed this up to 80%, with the remainder coming in as delivery fees.

However, those delivery fees also will be higher, as Nicor for the third time since 2018 has asked for another increase to its delivery rate, Golz said. That increase on average is about 5% a year. The increase in 2018 also was the first since 2009.

“Nicor gas customers are starting to see that on their current bills, and that’s because it’s cold out,” Golz said. “We’re using more gas to keep our houses warm, to keep comfortable and safe during this time of year.”

Several other factors have caused this increase, some of which are a continuation of the supply tightening last year, Citizens Utility Board spokesperson Jim Chilsen said.

That includes the deep freeze in Texas and the South in February 2021, which limited the natural gas supply, Chilsen said. This happened at a time when demand was increasing around the country because of the weather.

Other factors from last year include a lack of drilling and Hurricane Ida. The Russian invasion of Ukraine also disrupted gas supplies in Europe, causing more to be shipped overseas and tightening the supply at home, Chilsen said.

Market conditions and weather pattens in general are creating uncertainty too, Golz said.

“This is a perfect storm of bad news for Illinois consumers,” Chilsen said.

Aid available

In townships across Illinois, aid awaits residents who seek out help making ends meet. That includes applying for financial assistance through township offices to help pay utility bills.

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program along with the Nicor Gas Sharing Program and The Salvation Army offers assistance.

DeKalb Township Supervisor Mary Hess said it’s difficult to gauge, especially at this point in the winter season, how great the need will be for financial assistance. Hess said people who seek township financial assistance may qualify for help paying their rent and utility bills.

Citing employment concerns, increasing rent, rising utility prices and other emergencies, Hess said she expects that after Jan. 1, the township will see an increase in people seeking help with utility payments.

“It’s been mild,” Hess said. “People maybe haven’t had to have the heat on, have it running as much.”

Hess pointed to electricity as a source of relief for some energy users.

“A lot of individuals that live in rental units tend to have electric heat,” Hess said. “The price of electricity has not gone up as much as the price of natural gas that equips furnaces. So there might be some benefits this year to having electric heat.”

Thomas Dominguez, a ComEd spokesman, said the utility company has noted people have been struggling to pay their utility bills, but it’s not a new trend at this point in the year.

ComEd delivers electricity to about 4.1 million customers across the northern third of Illinois, and of that amount, 3.7 million are residential customers. Dominguez said that for ComEd customers, usage seems fairly normal and expected for electric users although only a small number of customers have electric heat homes.

At townships across McHenry County, officials are preparing for residents to begin requesting assistance as bills get harder to pay, McHenry Township Administrator Debbie Macrito said. Although assistance will be available in several forms, some may run up against limits of available aid.

“We’re expecting an increase in people needing help,” Macrito said. “But we have multiple resources we can pull from.”

Nunda Township itself doesn’t see much in the way of requests for help, but with prices set to go up this winter, officials are expecting more need, Supervisor Leda Drain said.

In DeKalb, Hess said the township already outpaced last year’s financial assistance output to those struggling to pay rent and utilities.

“Last fiscal year, we assisted with 36 payments to either utilities or rental assistance,” Hess said. “This year, we are already at 42, and we have three more months to go. So, we have helped more individuals this year already than last year.”

Hess said it will be tough to assess how this winter stacks up to those in years past.

“Because before that, when the federal government was distributing the stimulus checks, there wasn’t the need for people to come to us,” Hess said. “People had other resources.”

Patricia Venziano, general assistance director of the Joliet Township office, said the township office has hosted the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program three times so far, which attracted 30 people on average, she said.

Venziano said she typically sees people seeking rent assistance this time of year, not utilities. But Venziano estimated that the cost of natural gas has tripled in two years, and that’s “eating up” the LIHEAP grants for their gas bills.

“We’re finding people by January, February are out of grant money. And then they’re just going to be hung out there,” Venziano said. “Of course, with April comes disconnect season, and the utilities are very good about disconnecting in April.”

Gina Wysocki of Wilmington said the gas bill of her home went from $63 to $128 “just like that.” She said her usage has not increased, and she and her husband live “like old pioneers.”

“We don’t watch TV. We don’t play video games,” Wysocki said. “We just sit and talk, have coffee and play with the dog.”

Peru Township Supervisor Doug Biederstedt said he has a small stack of applications from people seeking help with their heat bills.

“We’ve seen quite an increase the past six months,” Biederstedt said, acknowledging that soaring energy costs have boosted calls for assistance.

Peru Township isn’t the only government entity fielding such calls. Between inflation and soaring natural gas prices – the latter at 14-year highs – low-income families are getting squeezed and turning to relief agencies to keep the furnace running.

At La Salle Township offices, Supervisor Mary Kay Pytel said her phone, too, has rung more frequently since summer, when energy costs took a notable turn for the worse.

“It’s probably doubled,” Pytel said of her call volume. “Everything has just gotten higher.”

The Salvation Army in Ottawa has temporarily halted utility assistance while focusing on its more immediate Christmas outreach. But Rachelle May-Haley, social service case manager, said assistance requests jumped 77% between October and November.

“We’ve had an increase in calls from many areas,” May-Haley said. “Some are choosing to pay their utilities instead of rent, so we’re being asked for rent assistance.”

The Salvation Army will resume providing utilities assistance after Jan. 1, although in all cases, it asks that petitioners first go through LIHEAP before contacting The Salvation Army.

Not all township governments reported a marked uptick in requests for help with heat bills. Neither Ottawa nor Utica townships report a utility-driven increase in emergency aid requests. Mendota Township provides separate monthly needs allowances but does not provide emergency assistance. In Streator, Bruce Township reported that any increase has been nominal.

Nevertheless, the townships are unable to help every supplicant who walks in or calls. Emergency aid is regulated by Springfield. One-time disbursements (applicants can reapply every six months) are capped at about $320, subject to an application process that includes residency requirements and income disclosures.

Pytel further noted that township assistance is subject to a petitioner match – residents have to produce some funds to pay the utility bills – and some applicants are too deep in arrears to meet the required match. Many are simply directed to LIHEAP.

Tips to save energy

According to ComEd and Nicor websites, several tips are offered to help residents save on their bills.

• Regularly replace your air and furnace filters at least every three months.
• Open your window coverings during the day and close them at night.
• Use adjustable thermostats rather than manual ones.
• Lower your thermostat and wear layers.
• Use sealant to clog up space in and around the door and window frames.
• Sign up for a home-energy assessment.

Shaw Local News Network reporter Tom Collins contributed to this report.