U.S. consumers expect 30% surge of winter heating bills

U.S. households using natural gas are expected to pay a 30% hike in heating bills. The U.S. consumers will face sharp increases in energy costs this winter no matter what type of fuel they use to heat their homes, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration released Wednesday.

The EIA forecast that U.S. households that primarily use natural gas to heat their homes will likely spend an average of $746 this winter, which runs from October to March, up by 30% from the amount they spent last winter.

About half of the homes in the United States normally use natural gas for space heating and water heating.