[JustCleanFuel]

We are interested in knowing what people are thinking/doing for heating oil contracts for this coming winter. It is our opinion that fixed price fuel will be a looser again this year as the summer fuel prices continue to spike. We see a repeat of the drop in fuel prices starting in September, like last year when they dropped .$ .40 cents in a month...between September and October..2007. A price cap is most likely the more palatable solution as it allows your delivery prices to float DOWN below the cap if prices drop..post a reply if you like.

[mels]

I have used the same oil company since I moved to the area 2 years ago. The first year we locked in and good thing we did! That was 2005 and we saved a good amount of money after Hurricane Katrina hit when oil prices spiked. Last year we didn’t lock in and the price went down. We just received a quote for this year’s lock-in price which they quoted at $2.49/gallon. I think we are going to fly by the seat of our pants again this year and just pay the going rate per fill up. I don’t know how other companies work, but the one we deal with you lock-in a price and you are **** out of luck if the price drops, you still pay the higher lock-in price. I am sure every company has a different policy and quite honestly we haven't shopped arounbd much as we like this company and their service contracts.

I am also in a different situation though, as I am probably having a wood stove insert put in one of my fireplaces this year which will cut down my fuel consumption drastically. Plus I live on a heavily wooded lot so my wood supply is plentiful and cheap.

[JustCleanFuel]

Our take is this:
Fixed price fuel contracts are a bet, you either win or loose.
A better solution is a price cap, reasoning is you know your maximum price..yet you should be able to get lower prices should the price of fuel drop..alot of oil companies however do not honor this, we have had many people switch to us because they got deliveries all winter at the cap price when the price of fuel dropped dramatically.

The other option which is never published by most oil companies is this:
we fix our margin to our customers, meaning they will always pay the same "profit" over our cost of oil. We also tell our customers what our margin is. In our opinion a fixed margin is a win win for the company and the consumer, as all know how the price is set. This lets our customer know 2 things, 1. we disclose fully our cost of fuel and 2. the customer knows what our prices are daily either by checking our website or our sign at our business which posts the price of our fuel. I find most companies will not disclose either of the above: margin and cost.

[JustCleanFuel]

Has anyone come across a new pricing method for winter fuel called fixed margin fuel? please respond if you have.

[new to CT]

I wonder if the people who post under "justcleanfuel" are still of the opinion that fixed fuel will be a loser this year as they expect prices to go down??

[notjustamom]

We locked in a rate for the last few years, but kept losing money, especially last year. It's definitely a gamble. We didn't lock in a rate this year. If we had we probably would have saved money.

[tomcio]

i am planning to move to CT this year and the fuel oil prices is a very interesting topic for me. i would really appreciate to know how much the average fuel bill for say 1700 sq ft home would be per winter month? the price per gallon does not tell me much.

[notjustamom]

Our house is about 1600 square feet, and we've been using about 100-125 gallons per month the past couple of months. (it also heats our hot water tank) Just last week when I called for a 125 gallon delivery, it cost us $392.00. We keep the thermostat set at 62 during the day, and 58 at night. The higher the cost per gallon, the higher the cost for delivery.

[flyingdaggers]

which one cost less annd/or more efficient, oil or gas?

[Rocklin]

Tomcio -- Have you visited the Hartford area? You better take a visit before you decide to move. I was in shocked by the amount of homeless people on the streets. Crime must be just out of control...