There is finally some good news in store this year for homeowners who dread their costly heating bills.

Industry insiders say the winter is expected to be milder than last year and the cost of oil appears as if it will stay down.

"Since the cost of crude oil fell in the fall, we will start the winter season near the bottom price-wise," Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather.com's lead long-range forecaster, recently said. "Even with a rise in cost by mid-winter as consumption increases, it will probably still be lower than other years at that time period." 

Between December and February the oil costs will reach their peak, but experts say that peak is forcasted to be lower than last year, reports AccuWeather. 

The costs are expected to stay down through the entire duration of the holiday season.

Pastelok believes the low costs will save households hundreds of dollars during the peak holiday spending season. "That goes a long way during the holiday season," he adds. 

Unfortunately this good news does not stand true for homeowners who heat their homes with gas. The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts heating gas will increase by six percent this winter, as AccuWeather reports.