Utility Prices to Plunge as Unseasonably Warm Weather Decreases Demand for Heat

By Yehudit Garmaise

If temperatures continue to stay unseasonably warm, the high prices of utilities and consumer goods, in general and in Boro Park, could soon start to decrease.

Although NYC has just had one week of warmer weather, an unseasonably warm winter in many northern cities worldwide has meant that consumers have needed far less of the natural gas that heats their homes.

Consumers’ decreased demand for utilities has slashed their costs, as in all markets.

Now down more than 50% from summer highs, natural gas’s costs have returned to what they were a year ago: just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused energy prices to spike, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

Last year’s high prices of natural gas and the crude oil used for gasoline significantly contributed to the steepest inflation the world has seen since the 1980s.

In the months ahead, consumers and manufacturers may be able to breathe sighs of relief, as falling natural gas prices should also help to cool inflation.

Warmer weather over the first half of January, however, could reduce consumers’ demand for natural gas by about 100 billion cubic feet, estimated Eli Rubin, senior energy analyst at the gas-trading firm EBW AnalyticsGroup.

“The [natural gas] market is moving from a mindset of winter scarcity to looking ahead to leaving winter with more [gas] in storage,” said Rubin, who forecasted drastically decreased utility prices. “If anything, the market looks oversupplied,” which always translates into lower prices for the consumer.