Price Protection Plans
We offer two price protection plans for heating oil and one for wood pellets to protect Co-op members from sky high prices:
For Heating Oil:
1. Our fixed price pre-buy plan
2. Our Smart Choice plan with a capped price
Our sign up deadline for both plans is Friday, July 30th, 2010.
For Wood Pellets:
1. Our fixed price budget plan
Our sign up deadline is August 31, 2010.
We also offer Easy Pay budget plans for heating oil, kerosene and wood pellets for members who want the convenience of monthly payments but don’t want price protection.
Our price protection and budget plans are available only to Energy Co-op members. To become a member, complete our on-line application form.
Fixed Price Pre-Buy Plan - for heating oil
More than 150 Co-op members sign up for our fixed price pre-buy each year and receive these benefits:
A fixed price. You buy at least 400 gallons of your heating oil in advance for a fixed price. No matter how high – or low – our oil prices go, your price won’t change. Most of our pre-buy customers buy their oil in advance every year, knowing that by following this strategy they’ll probably come out ahead more years than not.
Fewer bills. You make one payment, in advance. You make additional payments only if you use more oil than you pre-bought.
Automatic delivery. Our computer tracks your oil usage so you’ll never run out. It’s one less thing for you to worry about.
What happens if I use less oil than the amount I pre-buy?
It depends. If pre-buy customers take delivery of less than 75% of the amount of oil they pre-buy, the Co-op reserves the right to retain 60 cents a gallon on the undelivered gallons. Here’s an example: A Co-op member pre-buys 1,000 gallons but takes delivery of only 600 gallons (60%). The Co-op has the right to retain $240 to cover its costs (400 gallons x $0.60 = $240.
What happens if I use more oil than the amount I pre-buy?
Once we have delivered all your pre-buy oil, future deliveries are at our regular price. This may be above or below your pre-buy price.
Is price protection worthwhile?
More often than not. Check out our prices for the past five years. You’ll see that our fixed price pre-buy plan was the best choice in three years out of five; for the other two years our cash price (paying for each oil delivery within 10 days) produced the lowest average price.
How do I sign-up for my fixed price pre-buy plan?
It’s easy. Download and print our pre-buy form, fill it out and fax or mail it to us with your payment. Our deadline is Friday, July 30th, 2010.
Smart Choice Plan - for Heating Oil
More than 750 Co-op members sign up for our Smart Choice plan each year and receive these benefits:
Protection from high oil prices. Oil prices are reasonably low at present, thank goodness – but they could easily go much higher over the next year. With our Smart Choice plan, your price is capped at $2.99 a gallon. Each time we deliver your oil you will be charged our daily price or our cap price – whichever is lower. (On July 1st our daily price was $2.62 a gallon).
No big winter oil bills. Sign up for our Smart Choice plan and you’ll make the same monthly payments year round – and avoid getting huge oil bills in the winter. Your monthly payments can be automatically charged to your debit or credit card for your convenience.
Interest. You receive interest paid at the rate of 3% a year for every month your have a credit balance.
What does price protection cost?
25 cents a gallon. This is a one-time cost, based on your estimated oil use for the 2010/11 season. This amount is included in your July payment and is non-refundable. We need to buy price protection from our suppliers to offer our Smart Choice plan and we simply pass that cost on to you.
How does the Co-op calculate my monthly payments?
By making two assumptions. First, we assume that our oil price will average $2.99 a gallon over the next twelve months and that your oil use won’t change much. If next winter is much warmer or colder than normal – or if oil prices go down by more than 50 cents a gallon – we may need to adjust your monthly payment next January.
How do I sign-up for my Smart Choice plan?
It’s easy. Download and print our Smart Choice form. Then call us at 860-4090 to get the information you’ll need. Complete the form and fax or mail it to us with your payment. Our deadline is Friday, July 30th, 2010.
Fixed Price Budget Plan - wood pellets
This plan is an easy and convenient way to pay for your pellets. You’ll never see a big pellet bill again. Here’s how it works:
- Our minimum order is four tons of Vermont wood pellets to be delivered between August 1, 2010 and April 30, 2011.
- Your fixed price for these pellets is between $249 and $264 a ton depending on where you live and how many pellets you order.
- You pay for these pellets with 11 monthly payments, starting in August and ending in June.
- You call us when you need a delivery (we require three weeks notice).
Here’s an example. You order five tons of pellets and live in Jericho. Your fixed price is $249 a ton, $1,245 in total. Your monthly payments are $113 starting in August and ending in June. You may pay by cash, check, money order, credit or debit card.
How do I sign up for the Fixed Price budget plan?
It’s easy. Download and print our Fixed Price budget plan form. Then call us at 860-4090. We’ll answer your questions, take your order and calculate your monthly payments. Complete the form and fax or mail it to us with your payment.
Our deadline is August 31, 2010.
What about delivery charges?
There are none. That’s right, no delivery charges. We include our delivery costs in the price we charge. Check this carefully if you speak with other suppliers. Don’t be surprised by delivery charges that add $20, $25 or $30 a ton to the price.
