Thursday, August 25, 2005

Get ready for an expensive winter

Think things at the pump are bad? Just wait until you get your heating bills. Once Old Man Winter gets around to paying Philly his annual visit, we'll be paying dearly.

It's the classic supply and demand scenerio. Crude oil is going up thanks to many factors. The latest is our off-the-chart hurricane season. Tropical Storm Katrina is threatening off-shore oil platforms. Threats mean production problems. Problems mean possible shortages. Shortages mean, you guessed it, higher prices per barrel.

And the fun doesn't stop there! China and India are big players now in the supply/demand market. It's not just crude they are using as much as the US. Natural gas is another resource they are using to no end. So for those of you that are chained to PGW and saying "natty-natty-boo-boo" to your neighbors with oil heat, wait until you get your first real winter bill.

Then everything else falls into line. Gas goes up, heat goes up, food goes up, etc. Looking at my paycheck ... well, why didn't it go up? Oh yeah! Taxes go up, insurance goes up, wages stay the same. Ergo, less for us to spend at the local video store for snow days.

There is no escaping it. We are going to get slammed this winter. And lord help us if it's a deep freeze.

See? This is what happens when I get a subscription to WSJ.com. I become a regular ray of sunshine.

3 comments:

CrankyProf said...

Yes, indeed.

We have natural gas, and after the SIX HUNDRED DOLLAR heating bill two years ago (for which I had to beg my dad for mney to pay), I went on the PECO budget plan (which still sucks ass).

Last summer, I invested in lined drapes for most of the rooms in our house, and a woodburning stove. And lots of sweaters and socks for the kids and I.

For some reason, I think this winter is going to be the Bad One they've been predicting for us for the last three years.

People in the city are going to be freezing to death, and I wonder if PG&E will be pulling the same shit??

Maidy said...

I'm on a budget plan with the oil company. I'm bracing for the next revision due out in November.

Geo and the baby are walking nuclear reactors so they don't worry about the cold. I get frostbite in A/C.

This will be an interesting winter.

Pax Romano said...

Here in Joisey I have PSE&G and I am on the budget plan which is one flat rate, every month for 11 months. Usually around January I get the extra bill; last year, and I don't know how this happened, I actually got a twenty dollar credit! Color me shocked. This year, I am sure it will be an extra thousand due with the way we've been running the AC all summer.