Landing in my mailbox is a fixed-price offer for natural-gas from IGS Energy. It's "a low fixed rate of 79.9 cents per therm that's guaranteed through your September 2012 billing cycle! That means you can lock in your rate now before your winter heating bills arrive -- and be assured of no price changes through next September."

This is a terrible price -- almost as bad as the 83.9 cents per therm that the Office of People's Counsel says is being offered by Spark Energy. As you can see, Baltimore Gas & Electric's standard, floating gas price hasn't been over 80 cents in more than two years. This month's price is 56 cents. Last winter the price never got over 64 cents. This winter's price is unlikely to be much different.

The one good thing to say about the IGS offer is that you can cancel it any time without an early-termination fee. But if you don't sign up for it in the first place, you won't have to worry about that.