Energy bills hitting home like never before - VIRGINIA GALT, Globe and Mail, July 10, 2008

Total household spending on energy likely hit an all-time high as a percentage of disposable income in the second quarter - with home heating and electricity bills expected to head even higher this winter, Bank of Montreal economist Douglas Porter says. Mr. Porter calculated that roughly 7 per cent of disposable income in Canadian households went toward gasoline, natural gas, fuel oil and electricity in April, May and June. "Natural gas has been quietly rising every bit as fast as crude oil in the past year (doubling in that period), and this will wallop household heating bills this winter," Mr. Porter said in a research report issued yesterday. "With many of the energy input costs for hydro companies on the march, it is only a matter of time before electricity prices also lurch higher in many provinces," Mr. Porter said.