TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Everyone’s going to be feeling the heat (or not) as rising costs of energy are looking to break the budgets of many Michiganders this winter season.

Consumers Energy spokesperson, Brian Wheeler, said, “We’re expecting generally heating costs will be higher this year because of the cost of natural gas.”

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But natural gas is not the only energy cost that is rising. According to the Department of Energy, they have forecasted many prices to spike this winter season including natural gas jumping up 28%, heating oil prices rising 27%, and electricity cost rising 10% from last year.

Homes with propane will also be seeing a 5% increase. According to the EIA (Energy Information Administration), Michigan uses more propane in the residential sector than any other state in the country. An estimated 320,000 Michigan households use propane as their primary heating fuel and Michigan relies on petroleum products to meet about 1/3 of its energy needs.

Across rural Michigan, in addition to propane, homeowners are also using firewood to heat their homes and the Michigan DNR has been warning those folks to stock up ahead of the winter season. According to the Census Bureau, about 3% of Michiganders burn wood for heat.

It looks like firewood might be harder to come by this winter season because loggers have been harvesting building-friendly softwood trees all year and firewood-friendly hardwood material are coming up short in some places.

It’s because of the shortfall and what looks to be a harsh upcoming winter season that the Michigan DNR is telling folks to stock up if they heat their homes with wood. Tim Neff of AJD Forest Products in Grayling says, “Demand for firewood pulp logs is strong. We have a waiting list from large firewood processors for production.”

Some options to find firewood coming from the Michigan DNR include looking for local firewood producers. They say, “If possible, use wood sources close to you to avoid transporting firewood over long distances, which can spread damaging forest pests and disease.”

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Homeowners can search listings of local firewood producers at the Fire Scout website.

Homeowners can also go into the woods and get their own firewood. For a small permit fee of $20 through the Michigan DNR, a household can gather up to five cords of dead and downed firewood from state forestland in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula for personal use. Most homes require about five or six cords per winter so it’s a small price to pay to do a little manual labor in the great outdoors.