Increase in natural gas cost affects students

The national energy crunch has caught the attention of many Penn students living off campus, who may have to turn down their heat just a bit more and brave the cold. With the cold winter at hand, heating in off-campus apartments and houses is a rapidly growing concern for a large number of students. And as gas prices increase to almost double what they once were, students are either feeling the chilly or paying the price. "I'm wearing more clothes around the house," second-year Wharton MBA student Melissa Pearce explained. She added that her electric bills are "pretty hefty," and that to compensate she is trying hard to keep the heat off in her apartment. Pearce has considered using the services of discount electricity providers like Utility.com and vows to do so once she finishes her studies here at Penn. College junior Peggy Mycek, who lives in a five-bedroom house on Sansom Street, has seen an increase in her heating bill from $250 to $350 for the month of December. And according to Mycek, things are just going to get worse since only one person was occupying the house during that period because of winter break. "It almost makes me want to move back on campus," Mycek said with a tinge of humor. For students living on-campus, the energy cost hikes are a non-issue at this point, since they do not have to shell out extra money for utilities. But a new University policy, which will lower temperatures by five degrees in many campus buildings to conserve energy, could ultimately affect on-campus dormitories. The vast majority of those Penn students who opt for off-campus living will have to foot the bill for their heat. "Our heating bills were absolutely ridiculous," College junior Kristin Moon complained. And for Moon and her housemates, bills running up to several hundred dollars will continue to rise this year as well. She cautions those who have not yet experienced a cold winter in off-campus housing to "be prepared." And preparation seems the only option because it is virtually impossible to avoid the price increases. Now the winter finds many students coping with an altered lifestyle of low heat and warm clothing. "We've been trying to get used to it being cold," said Engineering junior Benjamin Raskob, who has seen his heating bills increase from $130 dollars to $200 dollars in recent months. But Raskob joked that even if the gas bills are a little high, it's worth the price to live in an off-campus house.

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