Crude oil has hit $100 a barrel, sending heating-oil prices to new highs. But natural-gas prices have dipped thanks to large inventories and the absence of a bad cold snap. Baltimore Gas & Electric's January natural-gas commodity price is 93.64 cents per therm -- lower than the December price of 95.58 cents and far lower than January 2007's $1.0373 and January 2006's $1.2405. If you're a BGE natural-gas customer and you didn't sign up for a (higher) fixed price contract with an alternative vendor such as Washington Gas Energy Services, 93.64 cents is your January price -- plus costs for delivery etc. Not that it's any consolation (93 cents is still up sharply from a few years ago), but your oil-burning neighbors are probably paying more to heat their houses than you. Because natural gas isn't as easily transportable as oil or usable in as many applications, their prices sometimes diverge.