It's Turned Chilly...

I have just finished working on my schoolwork for the night.

I have been preparing for another exam.


I lit the pilot on the furnace this afternoon.

Blustery winds came in from the north this morning...

Stripping our beautiful 80 degree weather out of the atmosphere.


We have had a few cool nights and cool days here and there...

But today the wind felt bitter to me and quite cold in comparison to the weather that we've been having.

While we have ~suffered~ through those chilly nights without the aid of a furnace, I didn't think that it would be very comfortable in the morning without it...

Especially after dipping down to the 40's with 20 mph winds to boot.


I really hate paying for electricity to stay cool and gas to stay warm.

It's really hard on the budget, if you know what I mean.


ONG (Oklahoma Natural Gas) has a program where you can "speculate" on the natural gas market and lock yourself into a fixed rate for the next 12 months.

Last year I signed up for it and started out paying about $2 more per dekatherm before the cost of gas skyrocketed. I was really happy to be locked in when it hit $12 + per dekatherm.

*A Dekatherm is a measurement of energy content. One Dekatherm is the approximate energy content of 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

I was paying around $4/dekatherm less than the market rate for most of the winter.


There were a lot of people that had homes smaller than mine who were paying $350/month heating bills.

*yikes*


This year I didn't sign up.


I have thought about it a lot...

And have prayed about it too.


But I don't believe that locking my cost in this year will benefit me and that it will make me pay more than the market price if I did.

I've spent a little time studying the forecasts for the upcoming winter...

And the weather extended forecasts too.


The ~experts~ are expecting lower prices and a milder winter to boot.


If you guys only realized how affected I am physically by the cold weather.

Then you would understand why this is such a big deal for me.

I absolutely can't stand to be cold...


I have one more day to change my mind about the lock in program...

The price of gas for the Voluntary Fixed-Price Plan will be $9.25 per Dekatherm for the 12-month period from November 2006 through October 2007. To participate, you must enroll by October 20, 2006.

I am still paying last year's locked in rate of $8.393 per dekatherm.

Today the cost of natural gas closed at $6.81 per mmbtu.

1 mmbtu = 1 dekatherm (dkt)


Well...

All of this speculating is making my already tired brain feel ~drained~.


You guys have a great Thursday...


later...