Americans should be prepared for a significant rise in heating costs as natural gas prices have skyrocketed just as a severe Arctic freeze is expected to envelop the nation.

Recently, natural gas prices have increased by as much as 70% within merely a few days, coinciding with warnings of one of the coldest weather patterns seen in decades.

This situation poses a risk of driving up household heating expenses by hundreds of dollars or more for many families.

The first two weeks of February are predicted to be the coldest since 1985, likely causing households to keep their heating systems running at full capacity across extensive parts of the U.S., thereby dramatically increasing the demand for heating fuel.

Over half of American households are expected to be affected by this situation.

Around 61 million homes heat with natural gas, while another 57 million rely on electricity largely generated by burning gas, meaning price spikes can hit even those who do not heat directly with gas. 

There are fears of a repeat of the February 2021 Texas disaster, when winter storm Uri crippled the power grid, left millions without electricity and resulted in $5,000 heating bills for some families.

‘Yes – individual bills are likely to soar,’ Eli Rubin, senior energy analyst at EBW Analytics Group, told Daily Mail about this weekend’s storm Fern. 

Snow has already started to fall in Ohio on Friday morning as residents brace for the storm

American bill payers will be hit in various ways. The brutal cold alone will push bills higher. Millions of Americans will be forced to turn up thermostats and run heating systems for longer, increasing energy use even before price hikes are factored in. 

Households on fixed-price gas contracts will still pay more overall — but largely because they are using more heat. Their per-unit price remains the same, offering some protection.

Others face a far harsher hit. Families whose fixed deals have expired, or who are on variable-rate plans, pay not only for higher usage but for that energy at much higher prices per unit, measured in therms.

In Georgia, some customers have complained that the price per therm has jumped to about $2.79, up from roughly 65 cents previously — more than four times higher.

‘My son called me because his per therm rate expired and he is being charged 2.79 per therm. Are you freaking kidding me?,’ one stunned father wrote on Reddit.   

Experts warn households should never allow fixed-price gas contracts to expire — especially in winter — because once protection lapses, customers can be immediately exposed to extreme price spikes.

In parts of the Southeast, utilities can pass fuel price spikes directly onto customers.

‘Throughout the Southeast, fuel costs are not included in utility base rates and instead are recovered dollar-for-dollar through fuel adjustment charges on a customer’s bill,’ Simon Mahan, executive director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association, told Daily Mail.

In plain terms, that means when gas prices spike, customers pay almost immediately, rather than utilities absorbing the cost.

Analysts stress the biggest risks are concentrated among these households on variable or wholesale-linked plans, which accounted for the $5,000 bills in Texas in 2021.

During that freeze, most customers saw bills rise modestly. 

But a small group faced extreme charges when prices spiked, according to Henry Hoffman, co-portfolio manager of the Catalyst Energy Infrastructure Fund. 

‘You may get the extreme exception for those still on variable or wholesale-linked plans,’ Hoffman told Daliy Mail. 

And even families still locked into fixed deals may not escape higher costs forever. 

Analysts say today’s surge will mean customers whose contracts expire later this year are likely to face much higher prices when they renew, even if the worst of this winter has passed.

American consumers were already bracing for higher heating costs this winter, with households expected to pay about 9.2 percent more on average, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA).

A Houston resident boils water at home during the February 2021 Winter Storm Uri, when power failures and soaring energy prices left some households with utility bills as high as $5,000 

An aerial view of neighborhoods in Plano during freezing temperatures in January 2025, as a winter storm sweeps across Texas and other states, raising fears of higher heating bills and renewed strain on the power grid

Greater demand for power, higher natural gas prices, the rapid expansion of data centers, the costly restart of coal plants and federal assistance failing to keep pace with inflation are all contributing to the pain, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA.

‘The fact that skyrocketing bills may be paired with seemingly poor service or even local power outages may make it more unpalatable for end users,’ Rubin added.   

If utilities failed to lock in gas prices ahead of the storm, they may now be forced to buy fuel at volatile spot-market prices, which are often far higher, and that will be passed on to billpayers.

‘If they don’t buy spot gas, with the severity of the storm, the immediate alternative is potentially loss of life,’ Mahan said, warning that surplus energy from neighboring states may also be unavailable.