SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana's largest utility company says the state's mild winter has significantly cut consumers' energy use and their winter heating bills.

Duke Energy spokesman Lew Middleton says the company's average Indiana residential customer used about 14 percent less electricity in December than in December 2010 because of warm than normal temperatures.

He tells The Shelbyville News (http://bit.ly/x98Ups ) that the drop in usage resulted in an average of a 10 percent drop in December 2011 residential bills compared with the year before.

Middleton says that for an average consumer, more than half of total energy costs are for heating and cooling.

Duke is Indiana's largest electricity provider, with some 780,000 customers across central and southern Indiana.