AREA WEATHERING HIGH UTILITY BILLS; WATER, FUEL INCREASES ARE LEGACY OF COLD, DRY DECEMBER.

Byline: Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writer

Starting to feel thankful for the wave of unseasonably wonderful weather La Nina has brought to town?

Better check the mail. It will be a reminder of the cost of La Nina's two-week deep freeze last month.

Mother Nature's wild weather swings in 1998 have produced frightening utility bills for Los Angeles area residents - from fuel use in December that spiraled out of control because of the arctic cold wave to coming water bills for watering lawns because of the lack of rain.

As the first gas bills begin arriving, utility companies said Friday that customers used up to seven times more fuel than they did in the summer months and more than during the same period last year.

The December fuel bills provide an expensive finish to a year where an August heat wave propelled power bills to as much as three times the usual amount.

Eileen Moore of Granada Hills said she received her Southern California Gas Co. bill for December this week, expecting her usual winter bill of about $30.

``It was a disaster. It was over a hundred dollars,'' Moore said. ``I remembered it was cold, but I didn't think we used that much heat.''

At least Moore didn't have to pay the gas bill at West Hills Retirement Center, where she works as an administrator. The bill there was $3,500 - about $1,000 more than it was last year at the same time.

Adding to the hurt, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials reported water bills for December are about 6 percent higher than last year, in part because of the dry weather caused by La Nina.

Propane providers also were reporting record sales.

Southern California Gas Co. officials reported that residential and small-business consumers used 2.4 billion more cubic feet of gas in December 1998 than during the same period in 1997.

While the number seems imposing, gas company spokeswoman Denise King said ``it's not a huge amount,'' considering customers use about 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day in the winter.

Still, the gas company is reminding customers this month that there are alternatives for residents who can't pay their fuel bills - similar to programs the power companies advertised after summer electricity bills were delivered.

``We will certainly work with our customers on payment arrangements if they need help paying their gas bills,'' King said.

Customers can call [phone] for information on agencies that offer assistance to those who have difficulty paying their gas bills.

Southern California Edison Co. spokesman Steve Hansen said there was about a 5 percent increase in electricity use in December, about 2.5 percent of which probably was due to population growth.

``We believe the weather was a factor,'' Hansen said.

Hansen said power bills probably will be slightly lower than last year, however, because of a 10 percent deregulation-related discount that took effect last January.

December was a particularly prosperous month to be a seller of propane and propane accessories, as more people than ever filled tanks close to the brim in anticipation of a long, cold winter.

Mutual Propane of Gardena provided its Southland clients with 1,325,000 gallons of propane in December, a new record.

Propane controller Martha Waialae said Mutual's next best month was December 1997, when the company sold 1.2 million gallons to its residential and commercial customers.