Household heating costs should be lower this winter than last, with the biggest beneficiaries being consumers who heat with propane and natural gas, the government said Tuesday, Oct. 6.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expects natural gas consumers to pay 12 percent less and propane users to pay 14 percent less this winter. Consumers who use electricity or heating oil will pay about 2 percent less, the agency said.

Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, a major regional supplier of natural gas, no longer projects winter heating costs . But the recession-induced drop in demand for the fuel, plus the high storage inventories that could help avoid short supplies and price increases, is good news for consumers, Vectren spokeswoman Chase Kelley said Tuesday.

The price of natural gas for Vectren customers this month is 81 cents per 100 cubic feet, down from about $1 a year ago.

The EIA cautioned, however, that energy prices remain volatile, reflecting uncertainty in the energy markets.

Slightly milder weather than last winter also will help to reduce heating-fuels consumption, although that will vary by region, the EIA said. The Midwest, a major market for propane and natural gas, is projected to be about 4 percent warmer than last winter. Petroleum prices will gradually increase, the EIA said. It forecasts that the price of west Texas crude oil will average about $70 per barrel from this month through March, a $19 increase from last winter.

The average price of regular-grade gasoline at Dayton-area stations monitored by DaytonGasPrices.com was $2.38 a gallon on Tuesday, compared with $3.26 a gallon a year ago at this time.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.