Contents
- Winter energy bills statistics: 2026–27 EIA winter expenditure forecast
- Winter energy bills statistics by heating fuel and region
- Winter energy bills statistics: monthly electricity expenditures
- Winter energy bills statistics: natural-gas bills and prices
- winter energy bills: Household space-heating energy use and annual costs
- winter energy bills: Winter weather assumptions and past forecast context
- Sources
Winter energy bills statistics: 2026–27 EIA winter expenditure forecast
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s October 6, 2026 outlook forecast average winter expenditures for U.S. homes grouped by their primary space-heating fuel. The forecast covers November 2026 through March 2027. It is a five-month outlook vintage, not a record of bills already paid or the latest forecast: EIA’s page separately links a November 2026 update, whose figures are not included here. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
| Primary heating fuel | Forecast average expenditure, Nov 2026–Mar 2027 |
|---|---|
| Natural gas | $640 |
| Electricity | $1,196 |
| Propane | $2,115 |
| Heating oil | $1,246 |
These are average expenditures for households whose primary space-heating fuel is the listed fuel. For each group, EIA includes all end uses associated with that fuel, rather than isolating space heating. The figures therefore describe fuel-specific household spending over the five-month period, not a heating-only bill. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
EIA’s forecast also lists average prices of 13.44 dollars per thousand cubic feet for natural gas and 18.23 cents per kilowatthour for electricity. These are forecast prices associated with the primary-heating-fuel household estimates for November 2026 through March 2027. Price and expenditure are different measures: one is a unit price, while the other is the group’s average spending across the forecast period. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
Fuel-group averages should not be read as the expected cost for one household switching from one fuel to another. The groups contain different households, and the forecast’s spending measure includes each fuel’s associated non-heating uses. The outlook provides a useful view of the scale of expected spending by primary fuel, but its scope matters when comparing rows. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
Winter energy bills statistics by heating fuel and region
The October outlook provides monthly natural-gas expenditure estimates for homes primarily heated by natural gas. In the Northeast, the forecast was $148 in November 2026, $185 in December, and $206 in January 2027. For Midwest natural-gas-heated homes, the selected monthly estimates were $104 in November and $141 in January. The South and West January estimates were $117 and $131, respectively. All are forecast expenditures that include uses associated with natural gas beyond space heating. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
| Region | Nov 2026 | Dec 2026 | Jan 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | $148 | $185 | $206 |
| Midwest | $104 | — | $141 |
The table shows only months with checked values for both regions; the dash marks a month not included in this comparison, not a zero or a suppressed value. The available sequence shows higher forecast spending in January than in November for both listed regions. The Northeast estimates also show December between those two months. These are regional averages for households with natural gas as their primary heating fuel, not bills for every household in the region. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
A separate historical view comes from EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), which reports monthly average site-fuel expenditures for 2020. For electricity, the Northeast average was $113 per household using electricity in January and $119 in December. December averages were $116 in the Midwest and $141 in the South. These regional observations are from 2020 and should not be mistaken for the 2026–27 forecast. Source: EIA, Table CE8.10.M.2020: Monthly household site electricity expenditures
For natural gas in 2020, Northeast households using the fuel averaged $137 in January, as did Northeast households in December. Midwest households averaged $103 in January and $99 in December. December averages were $98 in the South and $82 in the West. The table’s unit is dollars per household using natural gas, so the values do not describe all households in each region. Source: EIA, Table CE8.18.M.2020: Monthly household site natural gas expenditures
Winter energy bills statistics: monthly electricity expenditures
The 2020 RECS monthly table reports average site-electricity expenditures in dollars per household using electricity. Across all U.S. homes in the table, the averages were $114 in January, $104 in February, and $123 in December. These are calendar-month averages from 2020, not a winter-only total, current-price estimate, or forecast. Source: EIA, Table CE8.10.M.2020: Monthly household site electricity expenditures
| Month in 2020 | All homes, average site-electricity expenditure |
|---|---|
| January | $114 |
| February | $104 |
| December | $123 |
The selected months provide a compact view of household electricity expenditures at different points in the year. The January and February figures precede December in the calendar year, and their order should not be taken to imply a continuous monthly trend. The measure is site electricity spending among primary occupied U.S. housing units using electricity. Source: EIA, Table CE8.10.M.2020: Monthly household site electricity expenditures
Regional December values show that the average was $119 in the Northeast, $116 in the Midwest, and $141 in the South. Those figures retain the same unit and population definition: dollars per household using electricity. They are not averages for every occupied home, since the table’s denominator is limited to households using the fuel. The RECS tables cover primary occupied housing units in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Source: EIA, Table CE8.10.M.2020: Monthly household site electricity expenditures
The 2020 monthly expenditure tables exclude expenditures for biomass, coal, district steam, and solar thermal. They report historical spending, not energy use or a price per unit. Together with the later EIA winter outlook, they offer distinct reference points: observed household averages in 2020 and a forecast for a particular five-month period in 2026–27. Their different periods and methods preclude treating them as a direct year-to-year comparison. Source: EIA, Table CE8.10.M.2020: Monthly household site electricity expenditures
Winter energy bills statistics: natural-gas bills and prices
In the 2020 RECS monthly table, the all-homes average site-natural-gas expenditure was $99 in January, $86 in February, and $102 in December. The values are dollars per household using natural gas. They represent monthly averages among primary occupied housing units using the fuel, rather than a bill for every U.S. home. Source: EIA, Table CE8.18.M.2020: Monthly household site natural gas expenditures
| Month in 2020 | All homes, average site-natural-gas expenditure |
|---|---|
| January | $99 |
| February | $86 |
| December | $102 |
The December regional averages were $137 in the Northeast, $99 in the Midwest, $98 in the South, and $82 in the West. January averages were $137 in the Northeast and $103 in the Midwest. These are regional household averages for natural-gas users; they preserve the survey table’s fuel-user denominator and 2020 period. Source: EIA, Table CE8.18.M.2020: Monthly household site natural gas expenditures
The 2026–27 outlook’s 13.44 dollars per thousand cubic feet is a forecast unit price, while the RECS figures are historical monthly expenditures in dollars per household. They answer different questions and should not be compared as if one directly explains or predicts the other. The 2020 expenditure table also excludes biomass, coal, district steam, and solar thermal spending from its fuel scope. Sources: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27; EIA, Table CE8.18.M.2020
winter energy bills: Household space-heating energy use and annual costs
EIA’s 2020 RECS end-use table puts average annual site energy consumption for space heating at 34.4 million Btu per household using that end use. The total across U.S. primary occupied housing units was 4,026 trillion Btu. Space heating includes both main and secondary heating. These figures cover an annual end use, not only the winter months. Source: EIA, Table CE3.1: Annual household site end-use consumption
| Census region | Average annual space-heating site consumption per household using the end use | Total annual site consumption for space heating |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 34.4 million Btu | 4,026 trillion Btu |
| Northeast | 47.5 million Btu | 1,030 trillion Btu |
| Midwest | 55.4 million Btu | 1,484 trillion Btu |
| South | 20.8 million Btu | 906 trillion Btu |
| West | 24.1 million Btu | 605 trillion Btu |
The first measure is an average for households using space heating; the second is aggregate site consumption across the region’s primary occupied homes. The regional values show variation in measured annual use, with the Midwest at 55.4 million Btu per using household and the South at 20.8 million Btu. They do not isolate weather, home characteristics, or any other explanation for the differences. Source: EIA, Table CE3.1: Annual household site end-use consumption
The annual average space-heating expenditure across U.S. households using the end use was $519 in 2020; the Northeast average was $769. By climate region, annual averages were $684 for homes in the combined Very cold and Cold category, $574 in Mixed-humid, $262 in Mixed-dry and Hot-dry, and $264 in Hot-humid. The denominator is households using space heating, and the period is annual 2020. Source: EIA, Table CE3.6: Annual household site end-use expenditures
Consumption and expenditure describe related but separate aspects of household energy use. The consumption table reports site energy, while the expenditure table reports dollars per household using an end use. The latter’s climate groupings are not the same as the Census regions in the consumption table. Both are annual historical measures, so neither is a direct estimate of a household’s winter bill. Sources: EIA, Table CE3.1; EIA, Table CE3.6
winter energy bills: Winter weather assumptions and past forecast context
The October 2026 EIA base forecast assumes 3,155 population-weighted heating degree days (HDDs) across the contiguous five-month period from November 2026 through March 2027. HDDs are defined relative to daily average temperature; the outlook presents population-weighted totals. Regional assumptions were 4,331 HDDs in the Northeast, 4,802 in the Midwest, and 2,781 in the West. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
| Forecast period | U.S. population-weighted HDDs, base case |
|---|---|
| November 2026 | 479 |
| December 2026 | 714 |
| January 2027 | 791 |
| February 2027 | 644 |
| March 2027 | 526 |
The monthly assumptions in the table are forecast HDDs for the United States. The outlook’s five-month U.S. total is 3,155 degree days. These values describe the weather assumption in the forecast, not observed temperatures or realized household energy use. Source: EIA, Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27
A historical EIA forecast example gives context for how a winter expenditure forecast can compare with a later estimate. For November 2023 through March 2024, EIA forecast in October that homes primarily heated by natural gas would spend $600 on natural-gas bills. Its final estimate was also $600. This result applies to that historical five-month period and that fuel-defined household group; it does not establish the accuracy of the October 2026 outlook. Source: EIA, How accurate were EIA’s Winter Fuels Outlook forecasts?
Sources
- Winter Fuels Outlook 2026–27, U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Table CE8.10.M.2020: Monthly household site electricity expenditures in the United States—averages, 2020
- Table CE8.18.M.2020: Monthly household site natural gas expenditures in the United States—averages, 2020
- Table CE3.1: Annual household site end-use consumption in the United States—totals and averages, 2020
- Table CE3.6: Annual household site end-use expenditures in the United States—totals and averages, 2020
- How accurate were EIA’s Winter Fuels Outlook forecasts?
- Winter Home Energy Costs: Surge in Electricity Rate Increases Will Cost Families More This Winter