www.coshoctontribune.com By KATHY THOMPSON Gannett News Service

CARY ASHBY/Tribune Robert Brown of Coshocton fills up his vehicle at Clark High Caliber Pit Stop on Chestnut Street. Regular unleaded gas prices around the state ranged from $1.54 per gallon to $1.74 Thursday. Pit Stop customers paid $1.62.

COSHOCTON -- They're heating up all across the country. Prices for gas and oil, that is.

Gas bills seem to have consumers coming and going these days with the cost of heating oil and crude oil rising quicker than temperatures.

The unfortunate fact is prices are probably not going to go down soon.

With Venezuela strikes and unrest in the Middle East, very few are actually "filling up" their tanks in their vehicles.

Heating homes is becoming more expensive with bills exceeding $100 to $300 more this year than last, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Heating oil prices rose 18.1 cents per gallon to their highest level in three years, reports the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or the EIA, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy.

That makes it $1.76 per gallon, more than 56 cents higher then last year.

According to Columbia Gas of Ohio, which has about 1.3 million customers throughout Ohio, the average bill could be more then $35 a month higher from February to April this year.

Ray Frank, a spokesperson for Columbia Gas, said consumers are getting hit with "three strikes at one time."

"What we have is colder weather, more consumption and higher prices," Frank said.

"We're having what we call colder degree days," Frank said. "That means we are at 5 percent colder this winter than a normal winter."

But, what is considered a normal winter has not hit this area for several years, which is why consumers are feeling the crunch, Frank said.

"We start our heating weather, as we call it, in November," Frank explained. "Starting in January, we usually have a few days a month or even more during a month, where the temperatures are warming up and we don't notice the cold so much. But, this winter, we really started getting cold in November and we've stayed cold. There's just been no letting up."

The result is higher demand on a market that is short in supply, Frank said.

"With the talk of war in Iraq, with the rush on the market for fuel, we're all in the same boat -- us, the gas stations, the other fuel companies, we're all hurting," Frank said.

Kno-Ho-Co-Ashland Community Action Commission has seen an increase in clients this winter who are in an emergency situation regarding their home heating bills.

"We've seen an increase of about 32 percent this winter," said John Flexter, a HEAP administrator.

"I think it's gas prices, the way the economy is and just the way the winter has gone that's affecting everyone," Flexter said. "This is a pretty normal winter for Ohio. For the past few years, we've had mild winters."

Flexter suggests turning the thermostat down, turning the hot water thermostat down to 120-125 degrees, and using low heat for gas dryers to save on home heating bills.

"Making sure the house is as closed up as possible can save money," Flexter said.

One thing consumers are encouraged to do to help offset costs is to shop around.

"We encourage customers to shop around the other gas companies," Frank said. "That is always a plus for them. Sometimes they can find much better deals if they just look."

Prices around the state ranged from $1.54 per gallon to $1.74.

According to a national survey by AAA, the national average price per gallon is $1.66, almost 54 cents above the national average this time last year.

AAA recorded the highest priced gasoline in California, with prices almost to the $2 mark. Prices in Kentucky and Virginia were recorded at some of the lowest at $1.58 per gallon, the survey showed.

J.D. Cunningham, an employee at Kwik-Fill in Coshocton, said prices at their station were low "most of the time."

"We had a special on Tuesday where we were at $1.66 a gallon," Cunningham said. "We've been pretty busy today, though."

No matter where the price for gas lands these days, some residents just are not happy with them.

"I haven't really heard anyone complain about the prices," Flexter said. "Well, I've been complaining. I've probably complained for most of them, myself. It's a shame where the prices are, but it looks like they may be here awhile."

kthompson@nncogannett.com 450-6764 Originally published Friday, February 28, 2003

www.record-eagle.com February 28, 2003 STAFF & WIRE REPORTS

      LANSING - Gov. Jennifer Granholm has issued an executive order telling state officials to conduct routine surveys of gasoline prices in Michigan and report any gas gouging to the attorney general.       In the executive order issued Thursday, Granholm directed the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Michigan Public Service Commission to work together monitoring gasoline prices. Granholm      "Less than two years ago, fears about national security resulted in what appeared to be price gouging by a small number of service stations," the governor said in a release.       "The anxiety felt by consumers in those difficult days has begun to reappear in recent weeks as gas prices have increased dramatically. Our state departments are doing their part to ensure that we are prepared to protect our citizens in times of uncertainty, and we need to pass this important legislation quickly to protect them in the future."       She was referring to bills that will be introduced by state Rep. Kathleen Law, D-Gibraltar, and Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor.       Their legislation would expressly ban the practice of price gouging during states of emergency declared by the governor. The law now contains no specific ban on gasoline price gouging.       The gouging ban will be no problem for Marathon Ashland Petroleum, said company spokesman Linda Casey. The company has a number of Speedway and Marathon stations in northwest Lower Michigan, including six Speedways in the Traverse City area.       "After 9/11 we locked down our prices to what were in effect at midnight of 9/10 and kept them there for over a month," Casey said. "We felt after 9/11 we had an obligation to do that. In Lexington, Ken., there is a state of emergency because of weather and our prices are on a lock down, so we have no problems with that."       While attorney general two years ago, Granholm took action against 48 service stations that had raised prices sharply in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks.       The stations were required to refund more than $100,000 in overcharges to consumers and to pay approximately $30,000 in civil penalties to the state, Granholm said. Two of the stations she was referring to were the Old Sportsman's General Store north of Petoskey and the 4 Corner Market and Duke's Old World Deli Too in the Petoskey area. Efforts to reach owners of the stations for comment were unsuccessful.       The governor said the American Automobile Association has said that recent increases in gasoline prices are not justified. While she acknowledged that prices have been volatile in part because of uncertainty over war in Iraq and a slowdown in oil imports from Venezuela, she said they still bear watching.       "Our goal today is twofold: To help consumers get information that will allow them to pay the lowest possible price for gasoline, and to assure consumers and retailers that we are watching the price of gas closely," she said.       In addition to forwarding potential unfair pricing practices to Attorney General Mike Cox for possible action, Granholm also has directed the Department of Agriculture to establish a system to give consumers information about gas prices.       Gov. Jennifer Granholm, www.michigan.gov Attorney General Mike Cox, www.michigan.gov

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reuters.com Fri February 28, 2003 09:30 AM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - If you thought Venezuela's political crisis seemed to be dragging for an impossibly long time -- you were right.

In a bizarre mass-malfunction, Venezuela's clocks are ticking too slowly due to a power shortage weakening the electric current nationwide. By the end of each day, the sluggish time pieces still have another 150 seconds to tick before they catch up to midnight.

"Everything that has to do with time-keeping has slowed down. If it's an electric clock, it's running slow," said Miguel Lara, general manager of the national power grid.

"Your computer isn't affected. Your television isn't affected. No other devices ... just clocks," he added.

The meltdown has taken a total 14 hours and 36 minutes from Venezuela's clocks over 12 of the past 13 months, he said.

www.manilatimes.net Saturday, March 1, 2003 By Maricel E. Burgonio, Reporter

WITH oil prices hitting all-time highs, the Department of Energy yesterday warned the country is facing a fuel crisis and urged the people to help reduce consumption through energy conservation.

Energy Secretary Vincent Perez Jr. predicted that oil prices would remain volatile until the second quarter of the year due to tension over Iraq and the recent prolonged strike in Venezuela.

In a statement, Perez said the combined factors of historic low oil inventories in different countries and supply problems due to the Venezuela strike are expected to keep prices unstable.

He added an extraordinary increase in demand for oil in the US,  given the already tight supply, would also exert pressure on oil prices.

 “We are again faced with a crisis as we see oil prices increasing to recent all-time highs. This is a crisis affecúting not just the country but the rest of the world,” Perez said. “But like any crisis, this is just temporary. I appeal to our consumers to become more prudent in the use of gas at this time until the situation has eased.”

The DOE said Dubai crude, the benchmark for local oil pricing, reached its peak in two years last Tuesday to $31.18 per barrel. For February, the price of Dubai crude  averaged $29.96 per barrel from $28.02 in January.

 Investment bank JP Morgan reported that political risks remain high and oil prices are likely to go up until the situation in Iraq is resolved.

Perez urged the public to make adjustments in their consumption, such as taking the MRT instead of driving to the office. Car owners should consider car-pooling, he said.

Perez also encouraged government agencies and private firms to provide shuttle service to their employees that could bring them directly to various points..

At the same time, Perez appealed to lawmakers and other groups to refrain from issuing unnecessary statements that only further confuse the issues. Instead, the Energy chief asked their support to educate consumers to conserve gas.

www.islandpacket.com By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Published Friday, February 28th, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) - Venezuela's oil production has been rebounding, but it's still too early to tell when American refineries will once again be able to rely on the South American country as they have in the past.

Venezuela's energy minister, Rafael Ramirez, gave an optimistic forecast during a visit Thursday, predicting that his country would be producing 2.4 million barrels of crude a day by the end of the month, about what the country's production quota is under guidelines laid down by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

But Bush administration officials did not eagerly embrace the upbeat assessment.

On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told a Senate hearing it might be two to three months before Venezuelan imports get back to normal.

"We appreciated their sharing the information with us," Energy Department spokeswoman Jeanne Lopatto said Thursday when asked for comment on Ramirez' forecast.

The loss of Venezuelan oil in December because of the country's political strife has been especially worrisome within a Bush administration preparing for possible war with Iraq.

Energy analysts have questioned whether other producing countries with spare production capacity, mainly Saudi Arabia, could replace both lost Venezuelan and Iraqi oil should war erupt in Iraq and Venezuela's problems not be resolved.

The world's fifth largest oil producer, Venezuela is a major source of oil for the United States, accounting for about 14 percent of U.S. oil imports last year, or about 1.4 million barrels of crude and refined gasoline per day.

In recent months U.S. refiners, purchasing through intermediaries, reportedly have been relying more heavily on Iraqi oil to replace the lost supplies from Venezuela. The two countries produce similar types of oil.

U.S. imports of Iraqi oil doubled to more than 1 million barrels a day in mid-February, The Washington Post reported recently, citing unpublished figures from the United Nations. Working through intermediaries, U.S. companies long have bought Iraqi oil under a U.N. food-for-oil program, but those imports dropped to almost nothing last summer when Iraq for a time tacked on an expensive surcharge.

The political turmoil in Venezuela caught U.S. officials by surprise. Energy analysts have blamed the recent jump in the price of crude, as well as heating oil and gasoline, to the loss of Venezuela's oil and jitters over possible war in Iraq.

Crude prices retreated somewhat Thursday after soaring to the highest level since the Gulf War 12 years ago, closing at $36.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange spot market.

Analysts speculated that the decline- nearly $1 from Wednesday's close - was more the result of profit taking than a signal of a downward trend. The price for crude to be delivered in April increased to just under $40, the highest since October 1990, shortly before the Gulf War.

The attempt by Ramirez, Venezuela's minister in charge of energy and mines, to reassure U.S. officials of his industry's recovery seemed to have little impact on traders, who have been worried more about Middle East supplies if war erupts in Iraq.

Ramirez said Venezuelan oil production, at a standstill in December and January, recovered significantly in February.

He said production rose from 150,000 barrels a day in early January to just over 2 million barrels a day, with 1.5 million barrels a day being exported. He said production is expected to reach 2.9 million barrels a day by the end of March.

He spoke at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington group specializing in Western Hemisphere affairs, and later to reporters.