A heavy burden: Winter energy bills are going up, no matter how you heat your home

Winter heating bills will be higher this year for most homeowners, regardless of how you heat your home. Residential customers will spend about 28% more to heat with natural gas than last winter, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, though gas prices appear to have stabilized somewhat since dramatic increases at the end of last winter. Electric power will also cost more, although there are indications that they may be peaking, and customers could have choices with competitive suppliers in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, prices for propane and kerosene are also increasing. "You can't even f...