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Natural gas prices plummet to seven-year lows; many will see huge cost cuts for heat

* By Chris Kahn, AP Energy Writer
* On Thursday September 3, 2009, 12:20 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Natural gas prices tumbled again Thursday, hitting new seven-year lows after the government reported more supplies were put into storage as the entire country pares down on energy usage.

That will mean huge savings for a lot of people this winter when the heating bill arrives.

On Monday, Spokane, Wash.-based utility Avista Corp. said it wants to reduce natural gas prices for its Oregon customers to the lowest levels in five years. And in the Midwest, Alliant Energy Corp. and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. both predicted heating bills would drop around 20 percent.

"Any savings we get, they get," Alliant spokesman Scott Drzycimski said.

Natural gas for October delivery gave up 19 cents to $2.525 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped as low as $2.50 per 1,000 cubic feet -- the lowest since March 2002 -- after the government reported that U.S. natural gas supplies grew again last week and are now nearly 18 percent above the five-year average.