Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance ®
		Home Page News You Can Use Bitter cold, fuel costs send utility bills soaring By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 2/19/2004 Frigid temperatures and the high cost of fuels are driving customer utility bills to record levels. Keyspan Energy Delivery said the average gas bill of its 600,000 customers in the Boston area was $373 last month, up $80, or 27 percent, compared to the same month last year. It was the highest monthly average in the company's history. Keyspan spokeswoman Carmen Fields said the bills were much bigger in January because of colder-than-normal weather, a Keyspan rate increase that became effective in November, and sharply higher prices for fuel. Fields said last month was 28 percent colder than normal and the coldest January since 1888. She said natural gas costs were up 14.4 percent last month, compared to January last year. While temperatures have moderated somewhat in February, Fields said it is still colder than normal so bills are likely to remain high this month, as well. At NStar Corp., a spokeswoman said electricity usage was up 4 percent last month, compared to a year ago. She said the company does not track the average cost of its customers' bills. State regulators have expressed concern about utilities cutting off service to consumers unable to pay their much higher bills. The regulators have asked the utilities to extend the usual winter shut-off moratorium from March 15 to April 30. To cope with the higher bills, Fields advised consumers to sign up for balance billing plans, which allow them to spread the current spike in costs over the entire year.   Back to Original Article: News You Can Use   Continue with: Would a pullback help the market? Two Tales of American Jobs A Guided Tour of the I.R.S. From Coffee to Jets, Perks for Executives Come Out in Court
		Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance