Natural gas, electricity more expensive as November falls into deep freeze, cold winter coming

The cold is back, and with it, rising heating bills.

This winter was expected to bring much lower bills than last year because it wasn't supposed to be so darn cold. Homeowners could go a little easier on the thermostat, and less fuel use would offset rising prices for natural gas and electricity, which generates heat for 88 percent of U.S. households.

Then, descending from the Arctic, came a block of cold air nearly the size of the entire Lower 48. This month is now on track to be the coldest November since 1996.

"It came in hard and strong, pretty impressive stuff," says Matt Rogers, a meteorologist at the Commodity Weather Group, which forecasts weather and heating demand for energy companies. He notes that a cold November doesn't necessarily lead to a colder winter. But it depletes fuel supplies and pushes prices up.

And it just so happens most forecasters think January and February will also be colder than normal across most of the U.S.

The Energy Department forecast in October that customers of all fuels should expect to see lower heating bills between October 1 and March 31. But the agency said if the winter came in 10 percent colder than forecast, natural gas customers would pay 6 percent more than last year and electric customers would pay 2 percent more.

With this biting November and a colder-looking January and February, that chillier — and pricier — forecast now looks more likely.

"There's pretty good consensus for a cold winter overall," Rogers says.