By Alabama Public Radio
Washington, D.C. – The department says short supplies will contribute to high energy prices this heating season and officials are urging Americans to step up conservation. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration recently predicted households heating primarily with natural gas can expect to spend about 50 percent more this winter. Advocates for the poor have argued that as much as five-point-one billion dollars in federal energy assistance is needed to keep up with the high fuel oil and natural gas prices people will face this winter. Energy legislation enacted earlier this year authorizes that much money, but Congress has refused to appropriate it.