(09/28/06) WOODBURY - Despite decreasing natural gas prices, KeySpan officials said Thursday home heating bills would increase this month.

When last year?s hurricane Katrina destroyed natural gas supplies, residents say rate increases were painful, but they understood. Now, with prices dropping, KeySpan nonetheless announced a 10 percent increase in homeowners? heating bills this month. KeySpan officials say there is no reason to be concerned because there is a time lag between customer billing and the market prices. If natural gas costs continue to drop, the company says homeowners will feel it in their pockets long-term.

The price for home heating oil has also dropped, falling to about 20-cents per gallon less than this time last year.

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