Lower costs expected for heating, fuel

New Haven (WTNH) - The economic downturn may make it easier for people to keep their homes warm this winter.

The Energy Information Administration says people using fuel oil can expect to pay on average $1,694 during this winter's heating season. That is a 13 percent increase over last winter, but
that's also nearly seven hundred dollars less than what was projected by the agency only a month ago.

The 58 million households that heat by natural gas are expected to pay only slightly more than last year, an estimated $889 for the October through March heating season. That's an increase of 3.6 percent compared with last year.

The agency, part of the Department of Energy, also projects gasoline prices to stay low compared to early last July. Gasoline prices have already declined approximately 48 percent since July. The EIA expects oil markets will remain "weak", which means prices will stay low through next year.

AAA reports unleaded gasoline averages $2.32 a gallon in Connecticut, higher than the national average of $2.18, but not so bad compared to where we have been. Drivers are paying about 90-cents per gallon less than this day last year. The record high is $4.39.

Diesel has also fallen. The current average price for diesel is $3.44 a gallon. That's a dime less than this day last year, and more than a dollar and a-half under the record high of $5.05.