-- CNG Energy Index finds U.S. heating, cooling needs
                     7.7 percent below normal last winter

-- Regions vary from -13.8 percent in Great Lakes to +7.3 percent in Southwest

       -- Extremely mild January, February outweigh rest of the season

    PITTSBURGH, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Most homeowners in the United States
got at least one break from El Nino last winter -- lower heating and cooling
bills.
    According to the CNG Energy Index, home heating and cooling energy needs
averaged 7.7 percent below normal for the period November 1 through March 31.
That period coincides with the traditional heating season in most of the
country.
    While energy needs averaged below normal nationally, the CNG Energy Index
showed wide variations around the country.  For example, heating and cooling
needs were above normal in the Southwest and Lower Mississippi Valley.
    The CNG Energy Index, developed by CNG Energy Services Corporation, takes
into account outdoor temperatures, cloud cover, humidity and other factors in
estimating heating and cooling energy requirements for a typical single-family
home.
    "What we saw was really three distinct seasons last winter," said Joseph
H. Petrowski, president of CNG Energy Services.  "Cool temperatures in
November and December pushed energy needs a little above normal -- about
4 percent.  Then, extremely mild weather in January and February caused energy
needs to plummet to about 25 percent below normal.  In March, an early cold
snap followed by record warm temperatures across much of the country pushed
energy needs up about 18 percent above normal."
    Here are the home heating and cooling energy needs for November 1 through
March 31 for the United States and nine geographic regions compared with
normal:

                         CNG Energy Index

                                         Percent above/
             Region                       below normal

             United States                    - 7.7%
             Great Lakes                      -13.8%
             Great Plains                     - 8.3%
             Lower Mississippi Valley         + 5.3%
             Mid-Atlantic                     -12.9%
             New England                      - 6.8%
             Pacific                          - 8.1%
             Rocky Mountains                  - 2.7%
             South Atlantic                   - 0.9%
             Southwest                        + 7.3%
    More information about the CNG Energy Index, including a map of the
geographic regions, is available on the Internet at http://www.cng.com.  A daily CNG
Energy Index report with seven-day forecasts for 100 U.S. cities is available
for free via e-mail by contacting Chet Wade at Chet_Wade@corp.cng.com.
    CNG Energy Services Corporation, a subsidiary of Consolidated Natural Gas
Company (NYSE: CNG), is one of the nation's largest wholesale and retail
energy marketers.  Under the names Peoples Plus and East Ohio Energy, it
provides competitively priced natural gas or electricity to more than 120,000
residential and small-business customers.
    Consolidated Natural Gas has nearly 1.9 million customers served by CNG
Energy Services and four local gas utilities, operates North America's largest
natural gas storage system and a regional natural gas pipeline system, and is
one of the nation's largest independent oil and gas producers.
    CNG's recent news releases are available 24 hours a day on the Internet,
by fax machine, or by voice recording.  On the Internet, use CNG's web site:
http://www.cng.com   For faxing, call 1-800-758-5804 on a touch-tone phone and enter
CNG's extension number, which is 203456.  From a menu, you will then be able
to select releases that will be faxed to you immediately without charge.  For
voice recordings, call 1-888-CNG-NEWS.  This line is toll-free.


Web site:  http://www.cng.com