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When switching - the price/cost may be by amount used.
All will ask what gas appliances that you have. If you don't use much propane that cost may be higher.
Again, the cooperative is the best solution for most people.
But beyond all this. Ukraine, Covid, lack of ships, and new housing construction. The costs are going to be high for years to come.
One can go to the Politics section and argue about Trump Biden. Neither have control of todays prices.
You will find lots of "opinions" but few if any facts.
Yes, know all this. I'm interested in what it costs to have an existing tank pumped out and removed, and a new tank put in. My supplier of the past 6 years has been acquired by a national company bent on raising their margins at my expense, so time to seriously look at switching, but it's still a financial decision - if the cost of switching exceeds the savings of a lower propane price through a coop, why do it?
I also realize that everything about propane supply is negotiable, but a good negotiating position is based on knowledge of alternatives, and with the lack of transparency in propane/NH, it's tough to gain a good negotiating position.
It's too bad that natural gas is unavailable in most of NH. One person is responsible for a good deal of the blame- MA Attorney General, Maura Healy. She single handedly caused the cancellation of the two nat gas pipeline proposals, which would have brought new supply into northern New England.
She's the democratic candidate for governor of MA in 2022. Get even with her by making a contribution to her Republican opponent, Geoff Diehl. Note: I'm not endorsing Diehl.
It's too bad that natural gas is unavailable in most of NH. One person is responsible for a good deal of the blame- MA Attorney General, Maura Healy. She single handedly caused the cancellation of the two nat gas pipeline proposals, which would have brought new supply into northern New England.
She's the democratic candidate for governor of MA in 2022. Get even with her by making a contribution to her Republican opponent, Geoff Diehl. Note: I'm not endorsing Diehl.
The reason natural gas isn't available in most of NH is cost. Running natural gas to every house in NH would be so expensive that it would take the utility decades to recover the cost. Pumping more gas into NH would not expand the network.
This particular diatribe might be more appropriate in the Mass. or Politics forums, instead of interjecting it into every NH thread about energy and utility bills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wells5
Current #2 fuel oil prices in NH range from $5.60 to $6.30 per gallon. Residents will have trouble heating their homes and businesses come the winter.
It's too bad that the 2 natural gas pipeline proposals to bring new supply into New England were killed by Mass attorney general Maura Healy. The "married" lesbian environmental wacko is running for governor of MA. She'll probably win.
OP here. To the person who brought up natural gas and those who responded: PLEASE DON'T GO THERE. It's completely off-topic for this thread, and just leads to arguments (as it did here).
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbear99
To the OP: Did you switch? If so, what was the cost?
I'm facing a possible change in suppliers due to cost, and want to factor in the cost to switch.
And yes, cooperatives do seem to have the best pricing....
Bigbear, I didn't switch (or at least, I haven't yet). I liked the Eastern rep that I spoke with, but their closest office is Claremont, which is about an hour and a half from where I am (normally about an hour I think, but there's been road construction for a long time and it appears to be never-ending!). Amerigas's customer service has actually gotten better -- i.e., you can actually get through to them!! -- so while I am not thrilled with them, I will likely stay with them a while longer. (In addition, my schedule is nuts right now as I prepare for the fall semester, so I am just too overwhelmed to deal with anything "extra.")
But as to the cost: I've switched twice and the cost from the old supplier was basically zero (I think it actually WAS zero in both cases, but I can't remember for sure). Both times I switched, I knew the tanks were very low. I think in one case I got a few dollars back for what had been left. Call your current supplier (or check your contract) to see what fees they charge when service is cancelled.
The biggest cost of switching are the "checks" that the new company does and whatever start-up charges they have for bringing the new tanks, setting them up, etc. Again, that would be specific to the company you go with.
Sorry I can't be more helpful! I wish this info were more available on companies' web sites, but it's generally not -- which of course is great for them but bad for consumers because it's harder to compare different companies.
OP here. To the person who brought up natural gas and those who responded: PLEASE DON'T GO THERE. It's completely off-topic for this thread, and just leads to arguments (as it did here).
Bigbear, I didn't switch (or at least, I haven't yet). I liked the Eastern rep that I spoke with, but their closest office is Claremont, which is about an hour and a half from where I am (normally about an hour I think, but there's been road construction for a long time and it appears to be never-ending!). Amerigas's customer service has actually gotten better -- i.e., you can actually get through to them!! -- so while I am not thrilled with them, I will likely stay with them a while longer. (In addition, my schedule is nuts right now as I prepare for the fall semester, so I am just too overwhelmed to deal with anything "extra.")
But as to the cost: I've switched twice and the cost from the old supplier was basically zero (I think it actually WAS zero in both cases, but I can't remember for sure). Both times I switched, I knew the tanks were very low. I think in one case I got a few dollars back for what had been left. Call your current supplier (or check your contract) to see what fees they charge when service is cancelled.
The biggest cost of switching are the "checks" that the new company does and whatever start-up charges they have for bringing the new tanks, setting them up, etc. Again, that would be specific to the company you go with.
Sorry I can't be more helpful! I wish this info were more available on companies' web sites, but it's generally not -- which of course is great for them but bad for consumers because it's harder to compare different companies.
thank you for the thoughtful reply. I'll begin negotiations soon with my current supplier - we'll see how it goes, but given their takeover, I'm not optimistic.
Propane in NH is such a jungle, so lacking in transparency. It's worse than dealing with car dealers in buying a car, where there's at least some benchmarks available.
Given this discussion, I think heating with unicorn farts would be less complicated than propane.
Yep. It's one of those weird things that I had to get used to when I moved here. (I actually lived in New Hampshire from 1973 to 1982 too, but that was on Pease Air Force Base and then in Portsmouth, and I didn't have to pay for heat myself way back then. So I didn't know about much about propane 'til I came back here in 2002.)
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Yep. It's one of those weird things that I had to get used to when I moved here. (I actually lived in New Hampshire from 1973 to 1982 too, but that was on Pease Air Force Base and then in Portsmouth, and I didn't have to pay for heat myself way back then. So I didn't know about much about propane 'til I came back here in 2002.)
