By Brian Gray
Every Vermont homeowner can relate to that sinking feeling you get when you open that mid-winter energy bill. Perhaps it's in the middle of January when your holiday bills come due. Maybe it's the last week of February as you are trying to figure out if you can afford that spring get-away.
In most cases, more than 80% of your heating fuel bills come due in less than five months. So, planning ahead for your winter heating budget can go a long way towards peace of mind and avoiding surprises that leave your cash flow in the lurch.
Many Energy Co-op members take advantage of our Budget Payment plans each year for both heating fuel and wood pellets. These plans enable you to spread your heating fuel payments over a 11 month period making the cost of heating your home more manageable. And, with the Budget Pay plan, it doesn't cost you a penny more. (In fact, we give our Budget Pay customers eight cents a gallon discount on heating fuel.)
To calculate your monthly payment, we estimate your annual fuel bill by multiplying your normal fuel use by this year's projected prices. Then we split the total dollar amount into lower, equal monthly payments. At the end of the year we settle any difference in the actual versus estimated balance.
It is easy to sign up. Contact us and we will figure out your estimated payments and get you started on beating those high winter heating bill blues!