The price of natural gas for apartment renters has risen to twice last year’s rate this winter, impacting some off-campus students’ budgets.

Evan Levine, who lives in an apartment on the 2100 block of Maple Avenue, was shocked when he looked at his most recent gas bill, which is for a two-month period.

“It’s really expensive,” said Levine, a Weinberg senior . “We owe the gas company $345.”

Many off-campus students do not receive a gas bill because their building owners include heat in the rent. But for those who receive a bill, charges have been a lot more expensive during the cold winter than they were last year.

According to Nicor Gas, its charge for gas service in February was 55 cents per unit of natural gas, an increase of 26 cents per unit over the same month last year. Nicor serves about 2 million customers in northern Illinois.

“The gas price in February 2002 was an anomaly of sorts,” said Kris Lathan, a spokeswoman for Nicor. “The winter weather was much warmer, and the winter before that the nation had experienced some of the highest gas prices ever.”

The demand for gas exceeded its supply during the unusually cold winter of 2001, when the price of gas soared to 93 cents per unit — 69 percent higher than the current rate, Lathan said. Last year, the natural gas supply was pushed up by the industry to prevent high prices again, but the weather was much warmer, Lathan said.

The warmer weather and greater gas supply pushed prices below normal.

“This year it’s returned to normal, and we’re seeing the prices that we’re used to,” Lathan said. “Twenty-six cents a (unit) is very uncharacteristic. This year we’re in a higher gas price environment. We’re between the extremes of the past two years.”

Levine said the cold weather is probably to blame for his rising gas bills.

“Even over fall, (our bill) was up dramatically,” he said. “Our bill has gone up almost one hundred percent. It’s been an unbelievably cold winter, especially compared to the last two years.”

McCormick junior Kristen Lorentz, who lives in a house on the 1100 block of Foster Street with four other students, said her last gas bill was $140 for a period of three months. Split five ways, it came out to about $10 per person per month, she said.

While Lorentz said she has noticed that gas payments have gone up since the end of last year, other monthly payments have been a more pressing matter.

“Our rent is a much larger issue,” she said. “We have trouble keeping up with it.”

Mark Greer, who lives on the 800 block of Foster Street, said he noticed the cost of gas went up in January but said the increase was not substantial.

“I don’t know that it’s gone up that much,” said Greer, a Medill graduate student . “It depends on whether (Nicor) actually checks the meter or if it just estimates.”

Greer, who lives with one other person, said his average gas bill is about $60 a month.

“It’s gone up in the winter, which is obviously annoying,” he said. “But you have to pay utilities anyway. It’s been kind of burdensome, but I can’t say that it’s been that much of a problem.”

Levine said cold weather has probably made his bill even higher since the heat is on more often, but he still is upset by the high rates.

“It’s a damn lot of money,” he said.