There’s good news for people who heat their homes with natural gas, fuel oil and propane.

This winter’s heating bill should be about $105 less than last winter, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Ralph Arrick, owner of Arrick’s Bottled Propane in Lucasville, said propane prices had dropped all summer long, “And it looks like it’s going to stay that way.”

Arrick said this area is fortunate to have it’s own supply.

“Propane is made in Kentucky and West Virginia,” he said. “It’s not imported, and that helps the price come down.”

Arrick said his company delivers in 15 counties and has about 13,000 customers and five regional offices.

“We’re very happy that the price is considerably down from last year,” he said. “We have budget customers who pay per month and this summer we had a lot of smiles when they found out their monthly payment had dropped.”

In its annual winter outlook, EIA said an expected milder winter will cut average heating costs for the upcoming season by 8 percent compared to last year — to about $960. Households are expected to pay an average of $783, nearly 12 percent less than last winter, for natural gas, and $1,821 for heating oil, about 2 percent lower. People using electric heat will pay $933, a decline of 2 percent and those using propane $1,667, or 14 percent less than last winter, the agency said. Arrick said propane costs in this area are even lower than 14 percent.

The report cautioned that the projections reflect average costs and that expenditures for individual households will vary depending on local weather conditions, the size and energy efficiency of homes and the efficiency of heating equipment.

About half of all households depend on natural gas for heating, especially in the Midwest where seven in 10 homes use the fuel. People in the Midwest also are expected to benefit from a milder winter, compared to last year, and see natural gas bills 15 percent lower than last year, the agency said.

The report covers the winter period from October through March.

The EIA report also reported:

• Gasoline prices are expected to decline for the remainder of the year to a national average of $2.44 a gallon, while increasing next year to an average of $2.62 a gallon.

• Crude oil prices are likely to average about $70 a barrel through the winter period and global petroleum consumption is expected to increase by about 1.1 million barrels a day in 2010 as the economy strengthens.

• U.S. crude oil production is expected to increase slightly next year to 5.34 million barrels a day, mainly because of the declining economy, emissions are expected to increase by 1.1 percent next year, as the economy begins to recover resulting in greater energy use.

• While a 5.9 percent decline in carbon dioxide emissions is projected for this year compared to 2008, mainly because of the declining economy, carbon dioxide pollution will again be on the rise next year. The EIA projects an increase of 1.1 percent in 2010 as the economy slowly recovers leading the greater energy use.

For more information, log on to the Energy Information Administration at www.eia.gov.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this story.

DEBORAH DANIELS can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 234