Easy winter eases heating costs

MidAmerican Energy residential combined gas and electric customers who were billed in the month of December paid $25 less -- 13.75 percent less -- than a year ago on average.

Alliant Energy customers' natural gas bills are down 18 percent over last winter, said company spokesman Ryan Stensland.

Lower heating costs will allow Iowans on the state's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to stretch their benefits, said Jerry McKim, who administrates the federally-funded program in Iowa.

"That's the only thing we've got going for us," said McKim.

McKim is awaiting December's  figures from community action agencies across the state, but he expects this winter's LIHEAP enrollment to be near last winter's 96,000 households. The program set a record enrollment of 101,000 in the winter of 2009-10.

Congress cut LIHEAP by 25 percent this year, reducing Iowa's share to $54.8 million. McKim expects that to mean an average one-time benefit of a little over $400 per household, compared to last year's $560.