Get Ready for Fuel Switching In regions of the country that rely
primarily on heating oil or propane for heat, including the
Northeast and parts of the Upper Midwest, something pretty
surprising has happened over the past six months. The cost of
delivered heat from these fuels has risen above that of
electricity—even when that electricity is used for electric-
resistance heating in baseboard radiators. (For more on
comparing fuel costs,.) Electric-resistance heat can sometimes
be cheaper than even natural gas, particularly for buildings
with old furnaces and leaky, poorly insulated ducts. If a heat
pump is used to double or triple the efficiency of electric
heating, heating with electricity is almost always cheaper than
using natural gas, oil, or propane (though purchasing and
installing a heat pump is expensive). Barring a significant
price drop for heating oil or propane, and if the price of
natural gas keeps rising faster than that of electricity (which
is regulated), lots of buildings may be switching from