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Natural gas prices rising could hurt your wallet during the winter season

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JACKSON, Mich. — It’s Michigan, and it’s winter. When the temperature goes down, your bills can go up.

“For many households and businesses, this is the time of year where your heating costs go up,” Consumers Energy spokesperson Brian Wheeler said.

According to Wheeler, the price of natural gas has gone up meaning you could be looking at bills even 20% more expensive than usual.

“The entire commodity that is charged across the nation is more expensive,” he said. “It’s not an easy situation.”

This winter, Consumers Energy is providing $7.25 million to help customers pay heating bills.

“We want to provide assistance to our friends, our neighbors, to the communities we serve to make sure we get people to keep being safe and comfortable in their own homes,” Wheeler said.

The money is being distributed to several organizations. To get in touch with them, you can call Consumers Energy at (800) 477-5050 or dial 2-1-1.

“Maybe there are payment plans we can put you on or connect you with other types of assistances to make sure you’re staying safe and comfortable in your home,” Wheeler said.

He says there are other ways to save money too. Like not block your furnace, not letting in cold air and having your furnace tuned up.

“If you can take steps to make your furnace work less and have to use less natural gas in the first place, you can really hold the cost of your bills down,” Wheeler said

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