Your home heating oil bill is likely to jump this winter. Here's why.
Millions of homeowners will face higher heating costs this winter because of surging global oil prices, according to a new forecast.
Households that rely on heating oil for their home heating this winter could face a significant increase in utility bills, according to a recent forecast. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) predicts that the average American household using heating oil to power their heating systems will see an average bill of nearly $2,300 between mid-November and mid-March 2027, a more than 30% rise compared to last year.
The reasons behind the price hike are manifold. Mark Wolfe, NEADA's executive director and an energy economist, attributes the surge to the slowdown in oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, an effect of the ongoing Iran war. Additionally, Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil infrastructure have further depleted global oil supplies, contributing to the rising costs.
The majority of heating oil used in American homes is refined from crude oil, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, reaching around $106 per barrel on Tuesday – a more than 30% increase since the Iran conflict began in late February. This trend is expected to persist, even after a drone attack on a key Saudi oil pipeline disrupted oil flows, as reported by the global political risk firm Eurasia Group.
About 4.8 million homes in the U.S. currently use heating oil, with 82% of these households located in the Northeast, making the region particularly vulnerable to price fluctuations. Electricity costs are also typically higher in this area, according to NEADA.
The increased demand for heating oil isn't limited to households using this fuel type. NEADA estimates that overall household energy costs for heating, whether through oil, heat pumps, furnaces, or other electric systems, will climb by 8.7% to an average of $1,030 per household, an increase of $82 from the previous year.
Interestingly, an El Niño weather pattern, which typically brings warmer-than-normal conditions, may alleviate some of the winter cost increases by lowering the need for heating.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
