NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – As oil prices climb, many customers are already locking in prices for next winter’s deliveries of home heating oil.

Both consumers and energy experts think oil prices will probably keep going up – or at least they probably won’t fall anytime soon.

So home heating oil customers are prepaying an average of $1,000 now to avoid bills that could total $1,500 next winter. Prepay plans also are available for propane.

Some prepay plans guarantee that customers won’t pay more than the stated price per gallon, but that they can pay less if the market price for oil goes down.

Distributors benefit because the prepayment plans give them cash to lock in wholesale oil contracts.

According to an industry Web site, the average price of oil being offered in south-central New Hampshire for pre-pay plans is $2.029 per gallon.