www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | NOVEMBER 2014 11
Fuels
eIA N e w s
• EIA projects average U.S. household expenditures for natu-
ral gas, heating oil, electricity, and propane will decrease this
winter heating season (Oct. 1 through March 31) compared
with last winter, which was 11% colder than the previous
10-year average nationally. Projected average household
expenditures for propane and heating oil are 27% and 15%
lower, respectively, because of lower heating demand and
prices. Lower heating demand and higher prices contribute
eIA short-Term energy Outlook Highlights
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2014
EIA is expanding the State Heating Oil and Propane Program
this winter heating season. SHOPP is a joint effort between
EIA and participating states to collect weekly residential
heating oil and propane price data. The SHOPP program
has traditionally included 24 states in the Northeast and
Midwest regions, but the program was expanded after many
other states expressed interest in the program following the
winter of 2013-14.
Starting on Oct. 16 and continuing through March 2015,
EIA will publish propane prices for 14 new states—Ala-
bama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois,
Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
and Utah—as well as aggregate propane prices for the U.S.
Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain regions.
Adding these 14 states will increase SHOPP's coverage
of households using propane as a heating fuel from 56%
to 85%, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's
American Community Survey.
Unlike retail natural gas and electricity, which are both
provided through utility companies, retail heating oil and
propane are sold by independent dealers. Dealers and their
customers face considerable supply and price uncertainty,
such as during this past winter when extreme weather drove
up demand for heating fuels, depleting inventories and
increasing prices. SHOPP provides valuable information to
customers, fuel providers and state officials about market
conditions.
To make this information more accessible, EIA also cre-
ated a webpage that brings together all the state-level infor-
mation on winter heating fuels. It displays weekly price data
on heating oil and propane in the participating states along
with natural gas and electricity prices and supply. Data on
the webpage will be updated weekly during the winter as
data are released.
eIA launches expanded Winter Heating Fuels
Data Program for Winter 2014-15
Principal contributors: Tammy Heppner, John Krohn, Shawna Waugh
Source: U.s. energy Information Administration. Note: weekly heating oil prices
are collected in the states shown in dark blue and in the District of Columbia, but
not in Missouri, North Dakota, and south Dakota.
