Heating fuel costs won't chill consumers this year

So far, so good this winter, if you're a consumer of heating oil or propane. Temperatures have been seasonally appropriate across much of the nation, and thankfully we have not yet been stuck with another "Polar Vortex" like last year's, when some of the coldest winter weather in decades disrupted life in many parts of the U.S.

Last winter's frigid temps created propane and heating oil shortages across dozens of states. The propane shortage was also partly the result of a wetter-than-usual harvest (propane is used to dry out wet crops).

This past summer, in the wake of those heating fuel shortages, President Barack Obama signed into law the Reliable Home Heating Act, which aims to ensure delivery of heating fuel by loosening transportation regulations during state emergencies.

But this winter, thanks to Mother Nature as well to historically low oil prices and stronger inventories of propane and other home heating fuels, consumers are less likely to suffer in the cold.

Instead, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says consumers are seeing a remarkable drop in household heating prices at a time of year when those costs traditionally rise.

The EIA's Dec. 9 Short-Term Energy Outlook said lower crude oil prices have reduced heating oil spending by 27 percent -- an average seasonal savings of $632 -- compared to last winter.

The agency projects propane prices to be 13 percent lower in the Northeastern states and 26 percent lower in the Midwest. Households in those regions will spend 20 percent and 34 percent less, respectively, on propane.

EIA analyst Sean Hill told CBS MoneyWatch that while heating oil prices are falling at a faster-than-expected rate, it's hard to predict whether we can expect similar drops next winter. However, he added, next year's prices should be "more in line with this new $70, $80 per barrel oil, as opposed to the $100, $110 we saw the previous year."