As the cold weather nears, southwestern Connecticut homeowners are preparing for the cost of home heating oil.

Folks at Santa Fuel in Bridgeport say prices are currently similar to where they were a year ago. They're also optimistic that the cost of home heating oil might actually drop over the next few weeks.

However, everything really depends on this year's winter weather. Tom Santa, of Santa Fuel, claims it's all about consumption. If the weather is mild, people use less heating oil. If the weather is bad, people use more oil and therefore their costs will go up.

And according to the National Energy Assistance Director's Association, a 10.5 percent increase in oil consumption works out to about a 28 percent increase in overall winter heating costs.