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Automatic Delivery - Members choosing the automatic delivery
option are not responsible for monitoring their tank or notifying the
supplier when they are low. Heating oil deliveries will be made according
to a schedule set by the supplier. Your supplier is
responsible for making timely deliveries based on the size of your home,
the size of your oil tank, your estimated consumption and the day-to-day
weather conditions. You must call to schedule your first two deliveries so
that the supplier can get a sense of how much you use.
Will-Call Delivery – Some members want to monitor their own consumption
and schedule their deliveries accordingly. You must notify the supplier
48 hours before you need a
delivery. Members are urged to order their oil when the gauge reads no
less than ¼ of a tank. Suppliers are not responsible for “run-outs”
resulting from members who fail to give the required two-day
notice. Energy Cooperative Suppliers will attempt to make deliveries as
soon as possible after a will-call delivery is requested.
Pricing
and Payment Options - See supplier's page for availability
Billing Plan – Upon credit approval from a Cooperative
Supplier, you may take 10 to 15 days to pay for their oil delivery (length
of time depends on supplier).
Budget Plan – Upon credit approval from a Cooperative Supplier,
you
may enter into a budget plan each spring for the following heating season. This payment option allows
members to make monthly payments throughout the year, avoiding high oil
delivery bills in the winter. The Co-op Supplier will estimate your annual
consumption and a price for the upcoming year. Once a total dollar amount
has been estimated for all of your anticipated consumption, the supplier
will divide that into equal monthly payments. Budgets run for 10, 11 or
12 months, again depending on the supplier. Members are responsible for
keeping their budget plans current. Members that do not make their monthly
budget payments may be removed from automatic delivery status.
COD (Cash On Delivery) – Some members choose to pay for their deliveries
as they receive them. You must
be home when a delivery is made and pay cash for that delivery. Most
Energy Cooperative Suppliers will not accept personal checks for COD
deliveries. If you
do not have payment at the time of the delivery, the delivery will not
be made.
Floating Daily Rate – The Energy Cooperative
works with heating oil suppliers on behalf of our members in order to
provide the highest quality services at the lowest possible prices. The
Energy Cooperative negotiates a floating daily rate that is a fixed margin
above daily wholesale price. This means that our
suppliers have no incentive to deliver oil when wholesale prices climb;
they are earning the same profit margin in August that they earn in
February.
Fixed Price
– Some Energy Cooperative suppliers offer members a fixed
price plan. Under this plan, the price you pay for oil is fixed
throughout the heating season - it never goes up or down. Fixed
price plans are good for people who need to know how much their oil is
going to cost throughout the season.
Pre-Purchase
– Some Energy Cooperative suppliers offer members a
pre-purchase plan. Under this plan, you pay for oil now at a fixed,
usually low, rate. Most suppliers require a minimum purchase
of 500 gallons and that you be on automatic delivery.
Cap Price
– Some Energy Cooperative suppliers offer members a cap
price plan. Under this plan, you pay the floating daily rate for oil
but you are guaranteed that the the price you pay never exceeds a "cap"
rate. Cap price plans are good for people who want to guard
against price spikes.
Service Contact – Your heating system requires periodic and preventative maintenance in order to
avoid problems. A service contract provides the annual preventative
maintenance for your oil heating system, along with coverage of most replacement
parts and the labor involved in replacing those parts should a problem
occur during the winter. Prices for a service contract range from $100 to
$339 per year, but this is a relative bargain. The annual preventative
maintenance by itself costs $50 to $75, and the hourly wage for an oil
heat serviceperson can be $40 or more (that’s without any parts). The
Energy Cooperative suggests that all members seriously consider purchasing
a service contract for their comfort, safety and peace of mind.
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