If you thought it was pricey to buy food and fuel up your car, wait until you see your winter heating bill.

The price to heat homes with any fuel - natural gas, propane or electricity - is expected to be higher than last year, because higher oil prices and drilling that can't catch up to demand.

The tough forecast means at least one utility is warning its customers to expect a higher-than-usual bill. A flier sent to Montana-Dakota Utilities customers states that the average cost to heat a house this winter might climb to $916, a $350 increase from last year. That is the highest heating season cost for natural gas for MDU customers in the past five years.

It's simple economics, said Richard Matteson, MDU's director of communications and public affairs. Demand is up, and supplies are down, despite more drilling.

Although MDU's storage fields usually mean the company can store cheap gas for the winter, there hasn't been the usual surplus. While things could change, Matteson said MDU thought they should let customers know what could be literally coming down the pipe.

"That's our best-faith estimate right now. It could be lower, it could be higher," he said.

Propane isn't getting any cheaper, said Scott Parsons, general manager of McGas Propane in Sturgis. Usually propane prices drop during the summer, giving his firm and customers the chance to buy cheap propane and save it for winter.

That couldn't happen this year.

"It really never came off this summer - it's actually higher now than it was last spring," he said. "Propane got high last winter and never really dropped."

Parson said he expects the prices to drop eventually, however.

"This is that one year out of 20 when it hasn't come down when it's supposed to," he said.

Electricity is up as well, but not nearly as much. Jim Pahl, chief executive and manager of West River Electric Cooperative, said electrical heating rates are up 10 percent from last year, to a cost of 4.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. That means his customers should expect to pay about $440 to heat an average house during the winter.

Paul said the increase is because of a rise of the cost of production because of the climb in the cost of oil, and that reason is echoed by Ken Wetz, manager of Butte Electrical Cooperative in Newell.

"It's like everything else, the price of gas is driving everything up," he said. His company's rate for electrical heat is 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, and the average cost to heat a house should run about $840.

The difference in the two cooperative's estimates may be due to a much different estimate of average residential electrical use for heating.

Repeated calls Friday to electrical provider Black Hills Power weren't returned.

So what can residents do to avoid a crushing heat bill this winter?

The MDU flyer recommends a number of things, from maintaining heating systems and stopping drafts, to turning down the thermostats and water heating settings.

Some staring a big heat bill in the face are warming to the glow of burning wood, said Robyn Mundt, showroom manager at fireplace store The Heart & Hearth Shoppe in Rapid City.

"We probably have two or three a day," she said about the number of people making inquiries. "A lot of folks' mindset is, 'Why should I spend any more, when I have wood in my backyard?'"

Despite MDU's warning to customers, there are recent signs that the average cost might not hit customers' wallets as hard as expected, according to Bruce Dahl, MDU customer services consultant in Rapid City.

"Recently, we've been seeing gas prices trend down again," he said. "It's really been unpredictable."

Increases in the cost of natural gas are passed directly to the customer, with a standard amount held back by MDU. That amount doesn't change with the rising costs, Dahl noted, which means the company doesn't make any money on price increases.

"It's no benefit to us," he said.