People Continue to Face Hardships With Rising Gas and Energy Costs

BAY AREA (KRON) - With gas and energy prices expected to remain high through next year, Americans will be forced to slow the use of gasoline consumption on the road and slow rate of energy use at home by finding ways to cut back on heating and air conditioning.

Though the Department of Energy expects the price of gas to stay above four dollars a gallon at least through 2009, they note that drivers are making a concerted effort to cut back, averaging almost 400,000 barrels a day less than this time last year.

Some drivers told KRON 4's Craig Sklar that they keep driving out of necessity but that they might opt for gas-sipping alternatives from now on.

Heating and air conditioning bills are also expected to cut into family's budgets. Kristin Strellis told Sklar that her family just made their 1,600-foot home energy efficient. This includes updates to their furnace, water heater and windows. She says all that was money well spent, "I find that our electricity costs are a lot lower than that of our neighbors who have smaller homes."

According to their energy bills, Strellis and her family saves about 50 percent more.