Free Republic

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE As Europe careens towards an energy crisis this winter, a Baker administration official said that Massachusetts is in a position more similar to Europe than to other states, and put residents here on notice that the cost of heating their homes and keeping the lights on is likely to skyrocket here this winter as the price of natural gas soars. “Everybody should be aware that, this winter, Massachusetts is more like Europe than we are from other states because we’re at the end of our national gas pipeline system,” Judy Chang, undersecretary of energy and climate...

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers can expect significantly higher heating bills in December compared with the same time last year, but the increase won't be quite as severe as previously forecast. PG&E, which serves most of Northern California, said Thursday that natural gas bills will probably rise 25 percent this month compared with a year ago, which is down from the utility's previous estimate of a 38-percent increase. The average bill is now expected to be $110.55, compared with $88.10 last year at this time, according to the San Francisco-based utility. Mild weather has helped reduce...