Total Energy News and Insights

As an Oil or Propane Customer what should I do when snow is in the forecast? This weekend, parts of New England could see a considerable amount of snow. What does this mean for Oil and Propane home here, well not much is changing temperature wise.  However, snow in most cases worries customers and leads many to request an additional or quicker delivery of fuel. In some cases it's enough to push those that have been holding off on getting a delivery to get a delivery. When you see snow in the forecast and you are an automatic delivery customer, you can rest assured that your company should already have your next delivery planned. Most good fuel companies use a program that determines how much fuel your home uses a season. That means that when you get a delivery there is a good chance that your company will have an idea of when you should need another one.  This can change with temperature fluctuations as they normally use the average temp, but they will monitor...

How do you get your Home Heating Oil and/or Propane For many homeowners life seems to get busier and busier without there ever being anymore time in the day. While at the same token some of us have a large amount of time and enjoy convenience. Other like to manage all aspects of their life. There are two types of home heating oil delivery that cater to these types of people. Will Call, this is for those who like to be in control of everything or just simply like to know exactly when they will be getting an oil delivery.  Many people who use will call for delivery try to plan out when to order oil in relationship with the market. While this can certainly work sometimes, for the most part trying to predict the market is unreliable. Take a look at the market over the last two years, you'll see prices ranging from $4+ to $2+ to below $2.  From November of 2014 to February of 2015 to March of 2015 there were steep price decreases, then a sudden price increase due the col...

Price vs Value One of the most tried and true statements ever made is, you get what you paid for. In my past job in the tire industry this was always true for 90k mile tires vs 40k mile tires for high the price. The same can be applied to your fuel provider.  Their are two types of oil providers that you can find out in the market, cash on delivery or COD and full service. COD companies take payment at the time of delivery of your oil and for the most part do not provide credit or payment terms. COD companies traditionally do not have a service department. So in the event that your heating system breaks down in the middle of the winter or your pipes freeze it may be difficult to find a company that will come out in the middle of the night.  COD companies, because they have less staff and therefore less overhead have much lower prices for oil deliveries. Now a full service company, is a company that offers payment/credit terms, 24 emergency service, automatic d...

One for the Record Books This is past winter was one that was talked about at lengths, the mild start, the massive blizzards, frigged temperatures, and extreme market swings. What did that mean for you as a oil, propane, electric, and natural gas heating customer. Depending on where you fall, it meant a lot. Here in the Northeast we have one of highest percentage of home owners that heat primarily with oil heat, about 40%. This number has been dropping over the years as natural gas has been reaching more and more city and town streets. The price of oil had also been at unfriendly levels and climbing for years, without an help in sight. Until the floor dropped out of the oil market around November or so of 2014. Thanks to the increase price of the barrel the American Shale drillers were able to flood the market while OPEC stayed at their level of producing oil.  After years of the barrel being at, around, and above $100, it steadily dropped to $50-60 in ...