Lower Heating Bills for Minnesota Residents This Winter

Thanks to the unseasonably warm winter of 2011-2012, the Star Tribune reports, Minnesotans' heating expenses are 30 percent lower than last year's records indicate. Heating expenses are 50 percent lower than they were four years ago, according to the article.

The Star Tribune reports that in 2007-08, the average household paid $674 for gas between November and February; this year, that number decreased by 47 percent: the average CenterPoint Energy household paid $358 for gas between November and February. Xcel Energy saw similar numbers during the same time period.

March heating expenses for the average household will reportedly be $150-$200 less than last year.

The low numbers are not only due to warmer weather: according to the article, this winter occurred in tandem with an expanded supply of domestic natural gas, thanks to new drilling.