After a stretch of costly winter heating bills, off-campus students may finally be seeing some relief.
Nicor Gas, the main natural gas supplier for Evanston, expects a drop in prices for the next couple of months due to the warmer winter weather. February prices will be 67 cents per unit of natural gas, down from 72 cents per unit in January, said April Stevens, Nicor spokeswoman.
But according to Nicor’s Web site, this number is still higher than last February’s price of 60 cents per unit.
“If there are any cold snaps, we might see price spikes,” Stevens said. “But generally the trend is that prices in the next few months will go down.”
Weather has the strongest effect on gas prices, Stevens said. Colder weather for an extended period of time causes storage levels to decrease, increasing the price per unit.
The mild weather in the Midwest and Northeast has decreased national use, Stevens said. If such weather continues, the consumption prices will remain steady, she said.
But these first few winter months have been rough on students’ wallets.
Students first experienced a jump in their bills when November rose to 74 cents per unit of natural gas, up from 58 cents in October — an increase of more than 20 percent.
“In general, I’ve been astounded by how the bills have been outrageously expensive and more expensive than usual,” said Communication senior Jacquelyn Chi, who lives on the 1000 block of Garnett Place.
To keep costs down, Weinberg senior Lis Rehder said she and her five roommates have resorted to other measures to stay warm in their house on the 1000 block of Foster Street.
“Instead of heating the house to a comfortable degree, we wear lots of clothes,” Rehder said.
Rehder said their last gas bill was about $300. The people on the floor below her have covered their windows with plastic to keep out the draft, Rehder said.
Communication senior Candice Tse said she and her roommates, who live in a house on the 1900 block of Sherman Avenue, frequently make dinner in their jackets.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Tse. “The insulation is not so good. It’s like we have a black hole in our house that sucks out heat.”
Tse and roommate Edward Reynolds, a McCormick sophomore, went to their landlord with their bill, and he promised to fix the leaks in the house and replace some of the windows.
“As for changes, the sooner the better,” Reynolds said. “Once spring comes, we won’t need the heat as much, so we’re trying to get something done.”
Tse said all her roommates look forward to the gas price decrease.
“Any drop in price we appreciate and greatly welcome,” Tse said.
But McCormick senior Cary Maguire, who lives in the 800 block of Hamlin Street said he’s still hoping for a bigger price decrease.
“A tiny bit doesn’t matter that much,” Maguire said. “But if it drops more it would really help us out.”
Reach Kendra Marr at [email protected].
