So, who has recently started a new heating oil contract? (Yarmouth: house, buying)

[Elcarim]

It would be great to hear from everyone what kind of prices you're getting locked in at for the upcoming heating season. Maybe you could also share which company you've found your pricing with if others are shopping around.

If this topic has already been covered, please let me know!

[Acadianlion]

I think it is early. I called my fuel dealer a week ago and got the shock of my life, as kerosene was over $5 per gallon. Now, kerosene is always more expensive than fuel oil, but my house was designed around using kerosene heaters and I use around 500 gallons per year more or less.

What I discovered in talking with the fuel oil people was that if I bought a year's supply up front, it would save more than fifty cents per gallon.

So I have decided to install a second fuel tank, and will buy what will amount to about a full year's supply all at once and obtain a good price at that time.

But it does appear that the cost of oil is dropping, and from some of my reading, it may drop a fair amount more. Right now it appears that a barrel of oil will be selling in the mid $120 range, and that will mean that at some point the cost of fuels in general will trend downward. I am hoping to spend around $4 per gallon for kerosene when I fill early in the fall.

Watch the news and listen to what the news is regarding international fuel prices. The price that hits us here will follow whatever the trend is about a month or so later.

[Elcarim]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Pre-paid will be the way to go this year for those who can. I recently heard of some type of pre-paid gasoline program doing the same thing. Never looked more into it, but I guess we should if it can save that much!

And holy cow!! $5/gal??? Wow!

[dmyankee]

I would not advise to pre pay this year, unless it makes you feel more secure.

The refineries will be ramping up production of #2 and that will increase supply.

The waiting list for pellet stoves is huge right now. That alone will decrease demand.

People are topping off their tanks early. That will decrease early demand.

I think that fuel oil will come down below $4 buy the beginning of the heating season.

That's my $0.02. But I've started working up next winter's 10 cords.

[Maineah]

We are locked in at $4.60 for a high. We started paying $417.00 a month for the next 10 months. If oil goes down we pay the lower price so pre paying is no big deal. It's like having a bank account just for oil. We make a little interest on the balance and if there is money in the account at the end of the year we can just take it or put it toward next year's fuel. We deal with Down East Energy in Yarmouth

[Nor'Eastah]

We never lock in for the year. Our 275 gal tank is full now; I filled it last spring at $3.48. We will be using the pellet stove and vented propane heater for most of the winter. So this full tank should last at least half the winter, during the cold spells when we are both working. I expect to have the oil tank filled up one more time during the winter, but that won't be too hard to bear!

[flycessna]

I was thinking about prebuying 2000 gallons and going off the rack for the rest of my usage to try and leverage myself. Me dealer said he couldn't do it (I could always use more than one) which i understand makes it difficult for him. So I guess I am still going to wait. Whether politics have a play in this or not I think will see things level off around novermber at 105/110 a barrel...i think that should put us at 3.50 a gallon.

This country needs to stop its partison bickering and realize we need to be energy self suffecient....and start tsapping our own recourses and technology.......some good old yank inginuity, and determination! is all we need. nuclear, 800 billion barrels of oil shale, 180 years of natural gas, wind, and solar. I'd love to see how the middle east deals with that!!!...........and then after we cut them loose we can start exporting to europe undercutting the russians......thats my wet dream anyway.