Students in residence halls will not see an increase in their room and board rates because of rising natural gas prices, said Rick Garrey, manager of residence halls maintenance.

Garrey said utilities, water, electricity and heat have never played a large role in determining room rates.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average commercial price of natural gas to date is $9.45 per thousand cubic feet, up by more than $1 from $8.43 last year.

ISU residence halls are heated with steam rather than natural gas, said Garrey, who is responsible for looking over and keeping track of the utilities for the Department of Residence.

Natural gas is only used for dryer units in laundry rooms, and Garrey said there will not be an increase in the cost to dry laundry.

“There hasn’t been an increase; we’re still maintaining those numbers,” Garrey said. “I think part of that is because of the warm fall we’ve had.”

According to the ISU Web site, the university has allotted nearly $10.4 million to pay for steam heat in 2006. No total figure for natural gas was available.

Students control thermostats in Frederiksen Court and University Village, so the department is expressing more concern about those buildings.

Mary Beth Golemo, program coordinator for the residence halls, said she has created a program to educate Frederiksen Court residents about energy conservation. She said she wants to implement the program this year, which would save money and help students for years to come.

The Frederiksen Court newsletter will also help communicate university energy conservation to students, Garrey said.

The newsletter asks residents to lower their thermostats, and turn it down even further when they leave for longer periods of time, such as university breaks.

Garrey said the Department of Residence is also adding new energy-efficient boilers in the Knapp/Storms dining complex to help keep costs down.

Alliant Energy is offering a rebate for the new boilers added to the Knapp/Storms Dinning Complex.

The rebate will help offset the rising cost of natural gas; according to the Alliant Energy Web site, the rebate could save the university up to $100 per boiler.

“We’re just like any other consumer; we take advantage of what Alliant Energy does in rebates,” Garrey said.