08:54 AM CST on Friday, December 9, 2005

By Jeremy Desel / 11 News

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Like it or not we've gotten used to the high cost of gas. We see it every time we hit the pump.

The natural gas bill is just as bad.

"Gas prices make up at these prices today about 80 percent of a customer bill. We are looking at gas prices that are nearly double what they were just last winter," said Alicia Dixon of CenterPoint Energy.

How bad? A night like this one will cost you no matter how you heat your home.

KHOU-TV

CenterPoint Energy's Alicia Dixon.

CenterPoint energy says that 47 percent of your yearly natural gas bill is what pays to fuel your furnace.

But look deeper than the pie chart to find the dollars.

For an average Houston household the yearly natural gas bill at today's prices will be $822.39.

Do the math. Out of that amount, $386.52 goes to the furnace.

Take that one step further.

In Houston there are only about 90 heating days each year. That comes out to $4.29 a day.

That doesn't sound too frightening, but remember much of that cost comes on the few really cold nights. "People want to turn those furnaces up to stay warm and we recommend setting your thermostat at 68 degrees when you are home and even lower when you are not at home," Dixon said.

Why? Because the Energy Information Administration says turning the furnace down one degree can cut your bill five percent.

That means dropping from 72 to 68 degrees in Houston could save you $75 at least.