HEATING PRICES SOAR NOVEMBER RESIDENTIAL COSTS CLIMB BY 60%.

Byline: Erik Nelson Staff Writer

Home heating bills have soared by an average of 60 percent because of record natural gas prices, supply problems and unusually cold weather.

The average residential bill - calculated at 75 therms of natural gas - has risen from about $50 last winter to $80 this month, Southern California Gas Co. officials said Wednesday.

And homeowners should be prepared for more bad news.

``If the weather gets cold and usage increases, customers should expect to see bills that are even higher,'' said Art Larson, spokesman for San Diego-based Sempra Energy, parent of Southern California Gas Co.

For consumers, who are getting their bills now for record-cold November, the cost of keeping warm has dampened the holiday spirit.

``Most people can only put on one or two sweaters, and maybe you can turn down the thermostat a couple of degrees, but there's very little that the public can do as the natural gas prices skyrocket,'' said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association.

All that goes double for older residents, said Patrick Luby, legislative representative for the state chapter of the retiree group AARP.

``It's even more devastating than it is for younger people,'' Luby said.

Retired, the elderly spend more time in their often older and less energy-efficient homes often get higher bills and have a harder time paying them on fixed incomes, he added.

``Older people are not as sensitive to (feeling) changes in temperature as are younger people, and there's a risk that they'll turn the thermostats too low and run the risk of hypothermia,'' Luby said.

AARP has planned a rally in front of the state Capitol Building to protest what it says is lax governmental restraint on utility increases.

Industrial users and agricultural customers also face difficulties as natural gas prices rise along with electric costs.

Among the pressures driving up gas prices are burgeoning demand fed by a robust economy and a lack of new gas exploration, according to industry experts.

Making matters worse, the Los Angeles region has shivered through one of the coldest Novembers on record, and the rest of the nation has experienced similarly frigid temperatures.

And according to Sempra Energy, a major problem has been the rising cost of shipping the gas by pipeline.

``Transportation costs to the California border have increased substantially; wholesale prices have increased as well,'' said Larson, the company spokesman.

In one instance, the cost of gas in the pipeline was $8.50 for 1 million British thermal units, but the pipeline company tacked on an additional $52, Larson said.

Consumer advocates agree the cost of transporting the gas has contributed largely to the price hikes.

``The price in Texas and New Mexico might be $7 or $8 a Btu, and that's up from $3 a year ago,'' said Mike Florio, senior attorney with San Francisco-based The Utility Reform Network. ``It's gone up to $12 or $15, and on some days last week, even $20 or $30.''

According to a spokesman for El Paso Natural Gas, which controls the main pipeline that feeds Southern California, the company must charge a transportation rate - about 76 cents per million Btus - set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

But the spokesman, Mel Scott, said the company's subsidiary, El Paso Merchant Energy, buys one-third of the gas coming into the state and can sell it for whatever the market will bear.

``We knew this was going to happen, and we filed a complaint at the (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) against this arrangement,'' said Harvey Morris, principal counsel for the California Public Utilities Commission.

State officials filed documents in August supporting their case against El Paso with the federal commission, which has yet to act on them, Morris said.