CU WARNS: HIGHER HEATING COSTS ON THE WAY

The publicly owned utility company in Springfield announced Thursday that the cost to heat your home will be "significantly higher this winter," even if we're spared a harsh, cold season.

During Thursday's CU board meeting, General Manager John Twitty said:

“We do not know from one hour to the next what natural gas prices will be. Yesterday we saw the market go up twenty cents a therm on past and future hurricane news. Where the market goes today is anyone’s guess."

The Financial Times reports that heating oil prices jumped after the Energy Information Administration said a drop in inventories trumped an increase in diesel-fuel stocks. That, in turn, pressured natural-gas markets and sparked a jump in British thermal units -- those therms Twitty mentioned.

CU has long prided itself on providing low utility rates. That selling point won't carry nearly as much weight this winter, especially if the Ozarks slips into a deep freeze.