TOLEDO CHRONICLE -CEDAR RAPIDS (SPECIAL) – Natural gas customers of Alliant Energy subsidiary Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) should continue to see some relief in their natural gas costs again this winter heating season.

IPL expects the average residential natural gas customer to see winter heating costs about the same as last year – $620 for the six-month period from October 1 through March 31. This forecast is based on the current market, the percentage of IPL’s gas costs that are already fixed through storage or locked-in contract prices, and normal winter weather.

Lower natural gas prices and some warmer weather across Iowa during the 2009-2010 winter heating season translated into a 16 percent savings for the average IPL natural gas customer compared to the 2008-2009 winter heating season. The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts natural gas prices to remain below their five-year average into 2011.