The official start of winter is still two months away, but the winter heating season begins next week.

On Monday, National Grid revealed the forecasted natural gas and electric bills for the 2018-2019 winter heating season for its upstate New York customers.

According to National Grid, wholesale supply prices are expected to decrease during this heating season, which correlates to lower bills.

 

 

"These are the numbers we're giving out for an average usage customer, so we're estimating for average customers, some customers with larger homes [who] want their homes much warmer, the numbers will vary," said Laurie Poltnyski, an account specialist with National Grid. "That’s why we want to be very careful when we say this is for an average user."

National Grid has also provided a list of efficiency tips to save more money, like installing programmable thermostats and unplugging various electronics like TVs and computers when not in use.

According to National Grid, the single most important thing you can do is changing the filter at the base of your furnace, and purchasing another one the same size, which they say will save the life of your furnace and lower your heating bill cost.