The polar vortex that sent temperatures plummeting below zero last month is now going to take a bite out of your wallet. Columbia Gas of Ohio residential customers will pay about 20 percent more for natural gas in February than they did in January and nearly 50 percent more than a year ago. On top of that, if the below-normal temperatures continue, customers might end up using more gas than they typically would, further bumping their bill upward.

The polar vortex that sent temperatures plummeting below zero last month is now going to take a bite out of your wallet.

Columbia Gas of Ohio residential customers will pay about 20 percent more for natural gas in February than they did in January and nearly 50 percent more than a year ago. On top of that, if the below-normal temperatures continue, customers might end up using more gas than they typically would, further bumping their bill upward.

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The company estimates that a typical residential customer will pay $155.87 in February, about $20 more than the projected bill for January and about $50 more than in February 2013.

The price that Columbia Gas customers pay is linked to the monthly closing price of natural-gas futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price of gas spiked toward the end of last month and is much higher than it was a year ago.

�It�s a short-term reaction to the long, extended cold temperatures that affected most of the country in January,� said Shana Eiselstein, a Columbia Gas spokeswoman. �It is not reflective of a long-term trend.�

Customers will pay 68 cents per 100 cubic feet of gas used in February compared with 57 cents in January and 48 cents in February 2013.

Columbia estimates that a typical customer will use 16,100 cubic feet this month.

Eiselstein said it is hard to say how much higher bills could be if the abnormally cold winter continues because there are so many factors involved in natural-gas consumption, such as the energy efficiency of a home.

�That�s a difficult number for us to come up with,� she said.

The monthly price affects 59 percent of Columbia Gas customers. The others are participating in a gas choice program.

Columbia Gas customers aren�t the only ones to see higher bills in February.

Dominion East Ohio gas company has filed a February rate of $6.157 per 1,000 cubic feet. That�s $1.15, or 22.9 percent, higher than January's price and 61 percent higher than a year ago. The new price begins on Feb. 14 and runs through mid-March.

Dominion estimates the average bill for a typical customer, assuming a normal February, will be $130.31 � or about 25 percent higher than February 2013. Customers with poorly insulated or overheated homes will face higher bills.

Information from The Plain Dealer was included in this story.

mawilliams@dispatch.com