HeatingOil.com Profiles: Energy Audits by Atlas Glen-Mor
In business, “diversification” is an oft-repeated buzzword, but one that certainly deserves its buzz. By offering a wider range of products and/or services, businesses can expand their customer base, increase revenue, and protect themselves from any sudden changes to their industries. This is as true in the heating oil industry as any other—by expanding into other aspects of home energy services, heating oil dealers around the country are securing their market shares and growing their businesses. Atlas Glen-Mor of Chelsea, Massachusetts is one such dealer. In response to customer demand for home energy audits, Atlas technicians were trained and certified as home energy auditors by the Building Performance Institute, and have been busy providing audits ever since. By helping their customers conserve energy and save money on their heating oil and electricity bills, Atlas provides a valuable service and establishes itself as a “one stop shop” for all energy needs. Comprehensive energy services, a rich history, vast resources, and a courteous and professional staff have made Atlas Glen-Mor a leading heating oil provider (and more) in the greater Boston area and the rest of Eastern Massachusetts.
Check out the video profile of Atlas Glen-Mor and see what a professional energy audit looks like. Watch the video below or on the HeatingOil.com YouTube channel.
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HeatingOil.com Dealer Profiles: Petro Heating and Air Conditioning
(image: Nicholas Whitaker for HeatingOil.com)
Petro is one of the largest heating oil dealers in the country, serving the entire Northeast. Its blue trucks and blue and gold logo are recognizable to millions to Northeastern residents. As one of the largest and, according to Vice president of Sales and Marketing Joe McDonald, one of the oldest heating oil companies around, Petro has a lot of resources to work with. Petro’s huge fleet of trucks, offices and subsidiaries across the region, and numerous supply lines ensure the company always has ample supplies of heating oil to serve its customers’ needs as well as plenty of employees to field service calls and other customer concerns. Petro customers receive the benefits of those vast resources, but at the same time each Petro office and Petro-owned company operates like a “small, local company,” bringing customers “the best of both worlds.” Like most heating oil dealers, Petro understands that the industry is based on solid and reliable customer service, and keeps its existing customers happy while also winning new ones by delivering the quality service that heating oil users expect. A rich history, substantial resources, experienced staff, and a dedication to customer satisfaction have made Petro the pillar of the heating oil industry that it is today.
Watch the HeatingOil.com video profile of Petro below or on our YouTube channel
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HeatingOil.com Helps Thousands of Heating Oil Users Find New Heating Oil Suppliers Every Month
A lot of our readers already know that HeatingOil.com is the authoritative voice on issues facing heating oil consumers. But many don’t know that it is also the number one destination for consumers looking for a new heating oil supplier.
With tens of thousands of consumers coming to our site every month to read our heating oil articles, more and more of our readers are trying out HeatingOil.com’s Dealer Locator. With over 200 HeatingOil.com Approved Dealers to choose from and thousands of buying inquiries a month, we’re revolutionizing the process of how consumers find a new heating oil company. HeatingOil.com’s Heating Oil Equipment service has also helped hundreds of heating oil users find the best equipment to fit their needs at the best prices available.
Choosing a new heating oil or equipment supplier is an important decision- it isn’t something you can do by just looking in the yellow pages. You need to know the dealer you select is going to be dependable, financially stable, and provide great service. With HeatingOil.com all our participating dealers have been vetted and approved to ensure they meet our standards. You’ll know that if you choose a dealer from HeatingOil.com, you’re working with one of the best in the industry.
For consumers, all you need to do is provide your contact info and HeatingOil.com will connect you with an Approved Dealer in your area.
For heating oil dealers, it’s just as easy. Applying to become an Approved Dealer is simple and fast, and if approved you’ll begin to receive consumer leads on a free trial basis immediately.
If you’re looking for a new heating oil company, give HeatingOil.com’s Dealer Finder a try here. And if you’re a high quality heating oil supplier looking for some new customers, you can apply for our free trial here.
Some Mass. Heating Oil Customers Sticking to Price-Lock Contracts
A select few heating oil customers in Massachusetts and around the Northeast are dedicated to seeking out price-lock contracts this season. (image:miamiangelproperties.com)
On Tuesday, HeatingOil.com reported on heating oil dealers in Massachusetts not offering price-locks contracts to customers this coming heating season (a trend we first covered this year in Connecticut).
However, a recent report from a Massachusetts TV station highlights the other side of the story—customers who actively seek out price-lock heating oil contracts. WGGB in Springfield reported on Friday that a small but determined group of heating oil users in Massachusetts is contacting local dealers in search of price-lock contracts. Co-owner Lisa Benoit of Bay State Fuel Oil Inc. described the price-lock seekers this way:
There are a select group of customers out there that really want to lock in their pricing, they feel more protected that way.
Although adherents to price-lock contracts are out there, the WGGB report acknowledges that they are in the minority. Many heating oil users who entered into price-lock contracts in the summer and fall of 2008 were scared away from the contracts for good after watching in frustration as market prices plummeted. But this season’s fans of the contracts likely understand that 2008 was an unlikely worst-case scenario and have grown accustomed to the predictability of price-lock arrangements. Ms. Benoit explained the point of view,
We’ve been doing this now for about 20 years, 2008 was really the only year that there was any kind of significant loss to customers.
Because fewer heating oil dealers are offering the contracts this year, price-lock devotees may find it difficult to find the agreement they want. But a few phone calls to local dealers will likely turn up a dealer like Benoit, who is already prepared to take on a handful of price-lock customers for the season.
If you are a heating oil dealer or consumer interested in price-lock contracts, let us know why in the comments section below.
More Heating Oil Dealers Eliminating Price-Lock Contracts in Mass.
After price-lock contracts burned heating oil dealers and consumers in 2008, many dealers stopped offering them altogether. (image: constructionlawtoday.com)
Local television station WCVB in Boston is the latest outlet to report on the question that pops up every late summer in the minds of heating oil users: to lock in or not to lock in?
The WCVB news team interviewed local heating oil dealer Scott McFarlane of McFarlane Energy, who is not offering price-lock contracts this year. When asked to explain his decision to eliminate the contracts, McFarlane not surprisingly referred back to the fateful summer of 2008, when crude and heating oil prices spiked to all-time highs, only to plummet in the fall:
Two years ago, many dealers bought oil and customers wanted to lock in. The price dropped drastically and they were all asking dealers to come down. Several went out of business. I took a big hit. The dealer has to go out and buy that oil. If you sign a contract or have a verbal agreement and the price goes down, you can’t expect him to go down in price.
That worst-case scenario for consumers and dealers has since led many heating oil suppliers to eliminate price-lock contracts altogether—a trend that arose in Connecticut last month.
In addition to the trying times of 2008, McFarlane also cited a “consensus” that heating oil prices will be moderate and remain relatively steady this heating season. The consensus is supported by two major factors: supplies of distillates (fuels that include heating oil and road diesel) are at levels well above the five-year average and the US economy is still hindered by sluggish growth that could lead to a double-dip recession, which is keeping a lid on oil demand. It also matches a forecast for moderate and gradual increases in heating oil prices this season made by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration two weeks ago.
Heating oil users who are big fans of price-lock contracts (despite what may have happened to them in 2008) should still be able to find them by contacting different dealers—many dealers still offer the contracts, but only to customers who specifically request them.
The consensus belief that this winter will bring moderate prices and few surprises to heating oil users is reason for some cautious optimism. But, as is always the case with heating oil prices, no one can say for sure what will happen when the cold weather comes around. The best thing for consumers to do to save money during the heating season is to focus on conservation. Getting heating systems cleaned and tuned-up, sealing air leaks, and adding insulation will ensure more efficient heating and using fewer gallons, no matter what the price may be.
For a video of WCVB’s report on price-lock heating oil contracts, visit thebostonchannel.com.
Web-Based Mass. Heating Oil Supplier Clickfil Disappears Without a Trace
Clickfil’s website and email are down—has Clickfil delivered its last gallon of heating oil? (image: marketwire.com)
Clickfil.com gained notoriety in the heating oil industry when it launched last summer, promising to use technology like GPS and an online ordering system to deliver discounted heating oil to customers in Massachusetts, and offering cheap ice cream to gain the attention of heating oil users in times of warmer weather. Now, nearly a year later, Clickfil appears to have gone belly up. Their website is down, the domain name is now available from GoDaddy.com, and emails sent to Clickfil email addresses have immediately bounced back. For an online company, no website and no email is like not having a pulse.
It’s unclear what exactly has happened to Clickfil, but its demise would be surprising. As a subsidiary of Fort Reliance—the parent company of Irving Oil, one of Canada’s largest heating oil companies and the owner of Canada’s largest refinery—Clickfil had the backing of a major player in the heating oil industry. Irving Oil already operated in several US states, but Clickfil represented an attempt to make inroads into the Massachusetts market, and to establish a new way of buying heating oil that offered the low per-gallon rates of COD heating oil and some of the amenities—though not the service—of full-service heating oil companies.
However, Irving Oil has been backing out of some of its investments recently. In June HeatingOil.com reported that Irving Oil had canceled its plans to build a biodiesel refinery next to its existing refinery in New Brunswick. That announcement came just days after Irving abandoned its rights to tidal power off the New Brunswick coast. As Irving Oil reassessed its expansion into alternative energy, perhaps it questioned its attempt to reinvent heating oil delivery, as well.
Do you have any news or insight on what’s happened to Clickfil? Let us know by leaving a note in the comments section.
NJ Heating Assistance Administrator Gets Five-Year Prison Sentence for Fraud
Campbell was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing $24,000 from New Jersey’s low-income energy assistance program. (image: guardian.co.uk)
Constance Campbell, a local manager of New Jersey’s Home Energy Assistance (HEA) Program, siphoned $24,000 in state funds away from low-income households in need and took it for herself and five family members. All pleaded guilty, and the punishments for Campbell’s relatives ranged from probation and restitution to one year in jail. On Monday the New Jersey Superior Court sentenced Campbell to five years in prison for her role as the ringleader in the scheme to defraud the heating assistance program, reported the news site NJ.com.
Campbell wasn’t the only HEA administrator to steal from the program. Nicole Victor was indicted in May for stealing from the assistance program, and on Monday pleaded guilty to official misconduct, the same charge leveled against Campbell. Victor has now admitted to stealing nearly $12,000 and also faces a possible five-year sentence. If Campbell’s case is any clue, then Victor is likely to be sentenced to the full five years.
Said Attorney General Paula Dow:
These defendants had a duty to honestly administer the heating assistance program, but they instead devised schemes to defraud it. These cases send a strong message that we will aggressively prosecute those who abuse public positions for personal gain.
New Jersey’s investigation into heating assistance fraud has also uncovered a heating oil supplier who helped both Campbell and Victor perpetrate their crimes. Thomas Harris of Harris Fuel Oil illegally gave out cash in exchange for heating assistance checks instead of heating fuel. Harris would give less cash than the assistance checks were worth, and then pocket them for himself in the full amount. He did this for many legitimate HEA beneficiaries, but also worked with the fraudulent HEA administrators. In June Harris was sentenced to four years in prison.
Stephen Taylor, director of the state’s Division of Criminal Justice, hoped that their efforts would quell corruption in the HEA Program and let state money reach those who need it: “Through prosecutions such as these, we are working to deter the type of fraud that drives up the cost of public assistance programs.”
Like most states, New Jersey is strapped for cash and its energy assistance program is stretched thin by strong demand. Any money taken from the program is money taken out of the pockets of families struggling to stay warm in the winter.
Connecticut Heating Oil Dealers Shying Away from Price-Lock Contracts
Some Connecticut heating oil dealers are choosing to avoid the risk of price-lock contracts by not offering them to customers this season. (image: smartvirtualoffice.com.sg)
After the price of crude hit its all-time high of $147 per barrel in July two years ago, it then plummeted to $40 a barrel in just five months, leaving dealers and consumers that had locked in higher heating oil prices earlier in the season paying double the market price or more. That crazy volatility of crude and heating oil prices in the summer and fall of 2008 is still fresh in the minds of many heating oil dealers in Connecticut—so much so that some of them have stopped offering lock-in contracts altogether.
The New Haven Register reported on Sunday that Connecticut heating oil dealers, wanting to avoid the financial distress and customers’ fury that came out of the 2008 price spike, are not offering any price-lock contracts this year. Price-lock contracts are popular with heating oil users because they offer stability—the guarantee of paying one price for heating oil throughout the winter. The contracts are, however, a major gamble. If a heating oil customer locks in a price based on market conditions at the time, they risk paying well over market prices as the heating season wears on and market prices fall. What many heating oil users don’t know is that the heating oil dealers that offer price-lock contracts take the same risks that their customers do—dealers purchase the bulk of the heating oil required to supply price-lock customers at the time the contract is signed. This is especially true in Connecticut, where dealers are required by law to purchase 80 percent of the fuel needed to supply price-lock customers at the time they enter into the contracts. So when dealers buy wholesale oil based on a locked-in price, they are unable to pay less per gallon when market prices fall.
The trend away from price-lock contracts in Connecticut matches similar trends seen in Massachusetts and Long Island last summer and fall. It appears that dealers throughout the Northeast are finding the benefits to be gained from offering customers price-lock contracts are not worth the complexities and considerable risk that come with the contracts.
Recently, data and expert analysis have pointed toward moderate and steady heating oil prices this fall and winter, and if those predictions prove correct price-lock contracts could be beneficial to both dealers and consumers. But all it takes is one major drop in prices that forces price-lock customers to pay 50 percent above the market retail price for heating oil for tempers to flare and dealers to lose money and customers.
When the down side is so steep, it is easy to see why some heating oil dealers in Connecticut and elsewhere are opting to simply not open the can of worms labeled “Price-Lock Contracts.”
NH Heating Oil Dealer Under Investigation for Illegal Pre-Buy Contracts
Munce’s Superior, distributor of heating oil and other fuels, is under investigation by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office for offering illegal pre-buy heating oil contracts. (image: munces.com)
Heating oil dealer Munce’s Superior of Gorham, New Hampshire is under investigation by state prosecutors for carrying illegal pre-buy contracts worth $130,000, the Nashua Telegraph reported on Thursday. The law that Munce’s allegedly violated took effect last year to protect pre-buy heating oil customers from losing money if their dealer goes out of business and does not fulfill its obligation to deliver oil that’s already been paid for. Unfortunately, that scenario has been a common one lately—last month a dealer in Maine was ordered to pay almost $400,000 in restitution to shorted customers, Bernie’s Fuel Oil of Connecticut filed for bankruptcy with nearly $700,000 in outstanding debts to customers, and the heating oil ordering site PriceEnergy.com owes what could total $1 million to dealers and customers after its former parent company went belly-up earlier this year.
The charges against Munce’s, however, do not stem from outstanding debts to customers—the company allegedly offered pre-buy contracts that lasted more than a calendar year, which would be a violation of last year’s law. But Munce’s does seem to be in some financial distress, as state officials suspended its license to transport fuels across state lines last month as a result of $400,000 in unpaid taxes and penalties due to the state. The company did recently pay about $300,000 in back taxes to the state, but still owes the remaining $400,000, which would jump to $500,000 if not paid by a July 28 deadline. That deadline was extended by the state’s Executive Council on Wednesday because Munce’s owner, Harold Munce, recently suffered a heart attack.
The good news is that Munce’s pre-buy customers are so far unaffected by the company’s legal entanglements. “We have no evidence yet to determine that anyone who has requested oil has yet to receive it,” said Attorney General Michael Delaney. Munce’s is still in operation, which is a good sign for its possible return to financial stability and legal compliance.
Heating oil users in New Hampshire should be heartened by the Attorney General’s diligent enforcement of laws that protect their interests. Hopefully early action on this case will prevent any unpleasant money problems for Munce’s customers.
Mass. Heating Oil Dealer to Pay Penalty for Illegal Liens
Astrofuel of Marblehead settled the case in which it was accused of filing improper liens on customers’ homes. (image: ljpenterpriseinc.com)
A heating oil dealer in Marblehead, MA reached a settlement with the attorney general’s office after being accused of illegally filing liens on nearly 150 customers’ homes and assorted other deceptive business practices, reports the Salem News. The owners of Astrofuel LLC (which also does business as Anchor Fuel, Apollo Fuel, and Apollo Group), Anita and Peter Davekos, will pay $20,000 in civil penalties and release all improper liens.
The Salem News first broke the story in March 2009, and nearly a year later the attorney general’s office filed its complaint. Astrofuel ran afoul of the attorney general by charging customers without notifying them, not informing customers how to cancel their contracts, and operating without filing certification in a number of towns; however, it was the Davekoses’ unusual practice of filing improper liens that proved especially insidious.
Massachusetts state law allows a so-called mechanic’s lien to be filed against a property if work done to the permanent structure goes unpaid. The Davekoses claimed that liens were filed after they had not been paid for oil burner repairs, which might have entitled them to file a mechanic’s lien. But customers say such repairs never happened, and the liens were filed after customers disputed bills or tried to cancel contracts. In other cases—because Astrofuel was not properly notifying customers of charges—many customers were simply unaware of any unpaid balances and remained unaware that a lien had been filed on their home.
State Representative John Keenan is trying to change the law regarding liens to make it harder for people like the Davekoses to use liens to extort customers. Under current law, homeowners have little recourse to remove the lien other than to pay the alleged debt because dissolving the lien requires the consent of the filer—in this case, the Davekoses. Liens can severely hamper any effort to sell or refinance a home, and some homeowners may have simply found it preferable to pay the Davekoses the hundreds or even thousands of dollars they asked for.
One Salem homeowner, Jacqueline Wilkins, is not satisfied with the attorney general’s actions. She told the Salem News, “I don’t think it’s enough,” and has filed a class-action lawsuit against Astrofuel.
While the liens will be removed, customers would have rather worked with a different heating oil company and escaped the experience entirely. Customers aren’t likely to worry about whether or not a company they work with will illegally file a lien on their home, but it is advisable to do some research before buying oil from a new dealer. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gave Anchor Fuel a rating of “F,” a sign that Anchor Fuel and its parent company Astrofuel might best be avoided.
Heating Oil Dealers’ Impatience and Frustration Build as PriceEnergy Shows No Signs of Paying Debts
With payments from PriceEnergy months past due, affiliated heating oil dealers are reaching the end of their collective rope. (image: marieclaire.com)
The mystery of PriceEnergy continues, with no indication from company executives of when the online heating oil ordering service might pay its substantial debts to dealers or return to normal operation. We last reported on PriceEnergy on May 26, when Wayne Rodrigue, CEO of PriceEnergy’s parent company, Exousia Advanced Materials, stated that the payment of dealers was “weeks” away. A document filed around the same time with the SEC showed PriceEnergy.com to be a significant source of revenue for Exousia in the first quarter of 2010, which offered some solace to dealers hoping for prompt repayment from the business. However, almost five weeks later, dealers have still not heard from representatives of PriceEnergy or Exousia regarding overdue payments. With each passing day, heating oil dealers who are owed money by PriceEnergy sink deeper into financial distress and grow more frustrated with the lack of communication from PriceEnergy and Exousia.
“I don’t know what to do. I’m just hoping that the check’s going to show up on Friday,” said Bart O’Connor, owner of Advanced Energy in Westwood, Massachusetts. According to O’Connor, PriceEnergy owes his company $63,000 for heating oil deliveries made earlier this year. Under their agreement with PriceEnergy, heating oil dealers would receive orders from PriceEnergy.com through a secure email system and were obligated to fill those orders within three days. The dealers would then receive payment for those orders directly from PriceEnergy, usually within two weeks of delivery. PriceEnergy, however, would charge heating oil customers at the time of their order, leaving the dealers to lay out their own money to purchase the oil needed to make deliveries. It is the breakdown of this system that most confounds and angers O’Connor. “If the product is paid for and that money’s already in the bank, I don’t understand how it could stop working,” he said. “That’s larceny. If I did that to my customers, I’d be in jail.”
O’Connor is far from alone in his exasperation. Chris Brennan, Operations Manager at Brennan Oil and Heating Co. in North Providence, Rhode Island, has spent recent weeks organizing heating oil dealers owed money by PriceEnergy into a cohesive group. According to Brennan, Brennan Oil is owed about $25,000 by the company. Brennan says that the group he has organized is meant to serve several purposes, the first of which is sharing information and resources that could help get the dealers the money they are owed. Brennan’s preference is for the group (which currently includes about 30 dealers) to negotiate a resolution to the issue of outstanding payments out of court, and to continue working with PriceEnergy. “But without communication [from PriceEnergy], that solution is dead in the water,” Brennan ceded.
PriceEnergy has remained silent on the issue for the last six weeks, and repeated calls and emails to Exousia CEO Wayne Rodrigue by HeatingOil.com were not returned. The last message from PriceEnergy was sent via email to heating oil dealers on May 14. The email offers an apology for delays in payment and points to problems with securing financial support from lenders to PriceEnergy’s former owner, the embattled New Jersey company Able Energy. The email declares, “[Exousia subsidiary and direct owner of PriceEnergy] Evergreen cannot advance funds to PriceEnergy without Lender’s approval of the PriceEnergy transaction.” Despite the problem, the email also strikes an optimistic tone, stating, “we have been finalizing an agreement with a Lender of the former owner of PriceEnergy. Evergreen believes that it has finally reached an agreement today with the Lender and that the parties’ attorneys are now preparing the various documents for execution.” This explanation fits with statements made by Rodrigue to HeatingOil.com on May 26, but still begs the question, what is taking so long?
Exousia’s Q1 statement filed with the SEC in late May showed the company’s first-ever profitable quarter in the first three months of 2010 (due in large part to strong revenue from PriceEnergy.com). At the time, Rodrigue expressed hope that the good news would boost investor interest in Exousia and PriceEnergy, and help the company secure the capital is needs to pay off debts to dealers. But the quiet month that has passed since then suggests that the upbeat Q1 statement didn’t attract investors the way Rodrigue hoped it would.
Signs of financial problems within PriceEnergy began to appear in February of this year, when checks made out to dealers began to bounce or not show up at all. Peter Nardone of Nardone Oil in Wakefield, Massachusetts, whose company is owed about $25,000 by PriceEnergy, noticed some irregularities a little earlier. “I noticed all winter long that they had been behind on payments,” Nardone said. What followed for Nardone appears to be common experience for PriceEnergy dealers: after receiving a handshake and personal assurances from Evergreen’s Clifford Roth on behalf of PriceEnergy at the AREE Trade Show in late April and subsequent emails asking for patience, he has not been apprised of the situation by anyone at PriceEnergy, Evergreen, or Exousia for six weeks.
While the members of Brennan’s group and other affected dealers are considering legal action to secure their funds, their options appear to be limited. Because PriceEnergy’s outstanding debts are to heating oil dealers in several states, jurisdiction over criminal prosecution would be a complex determination to make. Further complicating the matter is the fact that Exousia is a Texas-based company. And because the outstanding payments to dealers constitute business-to-business disputes, state consumer protection agencies are reluctant to get involved. HeatingOil.com alerted the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs of the dealers’ plight, as the state Attorney General’s office is currently prosecuting PriceEnergy’s former owner Able Energy for fraud (download the case file at the Division of Consumer Affairs website). A Consumer Affairs representative is looking into the PriceEnergy situation, but could not comment on the Able Energy case because it is still pending.
Somewhat surprisingly, some heating oil dealers awaiting payment by PriceEnergy have not written off the company just yet, and are still willing to do business with PriceEnergy if and when it returns to operation. O’Connor, Brennan, and Nardone all reported smooth operation and prompt payment on the part of PriceEnergy for several years before problems arose this past winter. Dealers see value in the PriceEnergy model, specifically in its customer base, and would still like to reap the business that comes with it. But months of frustration and little to no contact from PriceEnergy representatives has eroded much of that interest, and in many cases, any remaining trust. When asked if he would be willing to work with a reformed PriceEnergy, Nardone responded that he was “about fifty-fifty.” “I would work with them until they found a replacement,” he said, “but after that, I just want out.” For Nardone, the loss of revenue is a major concern—all three dealers interviewed for this story reported taking out extra lines of credit to cover their PriceEnergy-related revenue holes—but what really irks him is the lack of communication. “I just want to know if it’s going to happen or not,” he stated.
The “severe lack of communication,” as Brennan put it, continues to add insult to injury for shorted dealers. A few weeks ago, the PriceEnergy.com website was updated, but the new version did little to allay anger. The address is currently occupied by a single-page “place-holder” that includes the updated PriceEnergy logo and a scrolling message claiming that “the website is undergoing technical issues” and offering thanks “for your patience during this time of transition.”
While there appears to be some goodwill on the side of heating oil dealers that offers the possibility of a functional PriceEnergy at some point in the future, that possibility is as faint as ever. Four-month-old delinquent payments in amounts of up to $70,000, a lack of investment capital, and seriously deficient communication and public relations have done little to place PriceEnergy in any dealer’s good graces.
Whatever the state of PriceEnergy, heating oil dealers will continue to explore their options for securing money that is rightfully theirs. Chris Brennan shared a saying that heating oil dealers turn to when faced with hardship: “Cold weather’s coming.” With some stepped-up action and some luck, dealers awaiting reimbursement from PriceEnergy are hoping the payments will come in before that cold weather arrives.
Heating oil dealers who are owed money by PriceEnergy and would like to join the group that Chris Brennan is organizing should contact him at christopher.brennan@gmail.com.
Irving Oil Shelves Plans for New Biodiesel Refinery
Irving Oil no longer plans to build a biodiesel refinery next to its conventional petroleum refinery, which is the largest in Canada. (image: celebratecanada.wordpress.com)
Irving Oil, which operates Canada’s largest refinery and is one of Canada’s largest heating oil distributors, has decided to end its plans to build a biodiesel refinery next to its existing refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, says the CBC. The company withdrew its application seeking environmental approval for the biodiesel project, said a spokesperson for Canada’s Department of Environment.
The biodiesel refinery is the second project that Irving Oil has backed out of this week; on Monday the CBC reported that the company had abandoned its rights to test tidal power in New Brunswick’s waters.
Whether this decision means that Irving Oil is no longer interested in biodiesel is unclear. Cancelling the biodiesel refinery fits into a recent pattern in which the company has scaled back its ambitions to expand. The company lost 23 of its US gas stations in February, and in 2009 the global economic downturn upended their joint venture with BP to build a second petroleum refinery.
While Irving Oil has been mum on how biodiesel may fit into its long-term plans, the short-term impact of cancelling the refinery project is to keep 2,200 barrels per day of biodiesel out of Irving Oil’s extensive home heating oil distribution network. If Irving Oil is withdrawing not just the application for this refinery but its support for biodiesel in general, that would deal a serious blow to the biodiesel industry’s inroads into the home heating oil market in Canada and—since Irving Oil also operates in New England—the US.
Heating Oil On The Move: From NJ Terminal to The Westmore Rack at Port Chester, NY
(image: Nicholas Whitaker for HeatingOil.com)
The word picturesque is not often associated with the heating oil industry, but this short piece we’ve produced about a heating oil barge is that and more. I have a soft spot for oil barges. I remember a freezing cold evening in 1980, when my father took his first barge delivery at a terminal he had just purchased from Sunrise Petroleum. It was a small barge, and a small terminal, just like the one you’ll see in this film. I remember standing on the windy dock all of 8 years old in a jacket and tie, waiting for the ship to arrive. It finally did, coming in slow and low to the water, heavy with product. My mother and sister had baked the crew a plate of chocolate chip cookies, which got us a tour of the ship. It was noisy and smelly, but to my father it was the Queen Elizabeth. The ship in this piece, the Patrick Sky, reminds me a lot of that ship.
It also reminds me that this industry and our comfort depends on an almost incomprehensible matrix of people and systems–from the oil rigs of Africa and Asia, to the refineries of the Gulf Coast, to the crew of the Patrick Sky, to the oil truck driver who delivers our fuel. It is awesome to consider all the other systems and companies we take for granted in our daily lives. I hope you will enjoy (as I have) the simple beauty of a glimpse at one of the smallest and most picturesque links in the global energy supply chain.
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Maine Heating Oil Dealer to Repay Shorted Customers
A settlement in Maine secured almost $400,000 for heating oil users. (image: technologizer.com)
Maine heating oil users who prepaid for oil they never received back in 2007 are closer to getting their money back. A judge approved a settlement between Maine’s attorney general’s office and Nicholas Curro—owner of Price-Rite Oil, Veilleux Oil & Service, and Perron Oil—that calls for $394,000 in restitution to 313 customers, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Curro was found guilty of breaking Maine’s Unfair Trade Practices law, which requires heating oil retailers to have supply contracts for oil or post bonds that could provide refunds in case oil prices change. Since the guilty verdict Curro and the state have been negotiating a financial settlement. Curro and his oil companies were also hit with a fine of $250,000, but that fine comes down to $25,000 if restitution is paid within five years, giving Curro ample incentive to find a way to pay back his customers who were left without oil three years ago.
But can he? In May his attorney, Dave Johnson, told the court that Curro might not “have the financial wherewithal to do anything” about the customers he still owed. And last year his assets in York County were sold off to pay creditors. Presumably this settlement reflects the judgment—hopefully accurate—of the attorney general’s office and the court that Curro will be able to repay his customers.
High and volatile heating oil prices in recent years have led to the downfall of a number of heating oil companies throughout the Northeast, and in every case customers who had prepaid for heating oil were left in a lurch. Pre-buy contracts that offered low prices have sometimes cut prices too low for the dealer to stay in business. Curro’s customers may be relatively fortunate, in that the restitution, which averages over $1,200 per customer, should cover the bulk of their losses. This was not the case for customers of F&S Oil in Connecticut. However, Curro has five years to finish paying restitution, so even if customers do fully recoup their losses they may do so eight years after the fact.
Heating oil users should be aware of the risks associated with pre-buy heating oil contracts before rushing into any agreement, and should check with the local better business bureau before signing a contract with a heating oil company. While such a contract may be the right decision for your needs, it ended up being the wrong decision for Curro’s customers, who were left in the cold and out hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Heating Assistance Fraud Gets NJ Heating Oil Dealer 4 Years in Prison
For stealing from the state’s heating assistance program, a New Jersey heating oil dealer faces four years behind bars, and could be joined by others who have defrauded the state. (image: scrapetv.com)
Over the course of five or six heating seasons, Thomas J. Harris, the owner and sole proprietor of Harris Fuel Oil, defrauded New Jersey’s Home Energy Assistance (HEA) Program of nearly $400,000. After pleading guilty in 2009 to money laundering and misapplication of government property, Harris was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday, according to a press release from the New Jersey attorney general’s office.
Harris Fuel Oil participated in the state’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is one part of New Jersey’s HEA Program, and Harris’s scheme involved offering cash, rather than heating fuel, in exchange for heating assistance checks, provided that the cash amount was less than the value of the heating oil. The press release quotes Attorney General Paula T. Dow on the case:
“This heating oil supplier shamelessly exploited the low-income beneficiaries of the New Jersey Home Energy Assistance Program, enticing them to trade the assistance checks that were supposed to heat their homes for a reduced amount of cash, while he pocketed the difference,” said Attorney General Dow. “In doing so, he stole from the state and its taxpayers.”
Investigators found 259 cases from 2008 and 2009 in which Harris fraudulently gave cash for heating assistance checks. In those transactions Harris deposited $399,812 in HEA funds and distributed $247,700 in cash, leaving the remaining $152,112 for himself. In addition to prison time, Harris must pay restitution for the money that he took for himself.
Harris is involved in two related cases in which HEA administrators are implicated in defrauding the state. Constance Campbell has pleaded guilty to processing false applications for herself and her family, some of which were cashed with Harris, and still awaits sentencing; the state has asked for a five-year prison term. Nicole Victor has been indicted on similar charges, and was also accused of working with Harris to trade fraudulent assistance checks for cash.
While these investigations have uncovered a dismaying amount of corruption in New Jersey’s heating assistance program, the successful prosecution and sentencing point to a serious effort on the part of the state to ensure that energy assistance funds make it into the hands of those who need them. Stephen Taylor, director of New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice, promised continued vigilance in regulating heating assistance in the state:
We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who engage in this type of fraud, which drives up the cost of public assistance programs.
Alliance of Soybean Growers, Biodiesel Producers, and Heating Oil Industry Aims to Boost Supplies of Bio Heating Oil
A delivery truck for Bioheat dealer Laurelhurst Oil in Seattle, WA. (image: TDI_Nick via flickr.com)
Representatives of three industries came together at the Massachusetts Bioheat Conference in Boston this week and announced a unified commitment to expanding the availability of biodiesel-blended heating oil throughout the Northeast. Michael Ferrante of the Massachusetts Oilheat Council, Joel Thorsrud of the United Soybean Board, and Paul Nazzaro of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) held a press conference on Wednesday to announce their agreement to cooperate on Bioheat (the trademarked brand name given to biodiesel heating oil and owned by the NBB), DomesticFuel.com reported. Their stated goal is to make all heating oil in the US contain at least 5 percent biodiesel. If this goal were reached, it would mean consumption of 450 million gallons of biodiesel per year, according to Thorsrud.
The 5 percent goal coincides with mandates for low-sulfur and biodiesel-blended heating oil that were adopted in Massachusetts last year and recently signed into law in Connecticut. Similar mandates are under consideration in New York and Rhode Island, where they face stiff political opposition from large oil companies through the American Petroleum Institute. But the success or failure to pass biodiesel and low-sulfur heating oil mandates will not affect the heating oil industry’s support of biodiesel or the coalition’s five percent goal, according to Ferrante. “[The oil heating industry] will take either a mandate or voluntary approach to embracing biofuels and ULSD [ultra low-sulfur diesel],” he said.
The three-member alliance’s cooperation gives a strong political base of support to biodiesel heating oil across the agriculture, biofuel, and heating oil industries. It also ensures a reliable supply of biodiesel feedstock (soybean oil), which is a significant concern of campaigners for more widespread adoption of Bioheat. Supplies of soybean oil from the Midwest will be sent to the Northeast mainly by rail and truck. “It’s been done for years. At this point, we’re talking rail and truck, and there’s a high level of confidence that that demand could be met throughout the seasons,” Nazzaro explained. This increased logistical and political support will help streamline an industry-wide transition to greener heating oil that is already underway. “There are over 240 retail home heating oil dealers that have adopted Bioheat…so this not just something that is starting next week,” Nazzaro said.
For heating oil users, this step toward expanding availability of Bioheat is good news. Bioheat and other biodiesel blends of heating oil are currently slightly more expensive than 100-percent petroleum heating oil, put proponents argue that the potential added cost of a few pennies per gallon is worth the benefits afforded to consumers. Biodiesel-blended heating oil burns cleaner and more efficiently than conventional heating oil and its solvent properties help keep heating systems free of buildup that can make performance suffer. Higher efficiency and cleaner systems mean lower heating oil bills and less required maintenance, which provide significant cost savings to users. As this new alliance adds momentum to the heating oil industry’s move toward higher biodiesel content in its product, added supplies of biodiesel will increase awareness of green heating oil and incrementally lower its cost.
Owner of Bernie’s Fuel Oil Testifies in Bankruptcy Court
Daniel Groben, owner of Bernie’s Fuel Oil, testified in federal bankruptcy court at the Abraham Ribicoff Federal Building on Monday. (image: bcaarchitectspc.com)
Bernie’s Fuel Oil of New London, CT declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 30, and on Monday the heating oil company’s owner, Daniel J. Groben, testified in front of creditors and the US Bankruptcy Court about the assets and liabilities of Bernie’s and about his own personal finances, reported New London’s The Day.
Groben spent two hours being questioned by court trustee Anthony Novak and creditors, and will return for more testimony on July 12. So far Bernie’s Fuel Oil faces more than 385 claims totaling $693,195 but more claims could still be filed. In addition, Groben has $2 million in personal debt, and Bernie’s still faces separate lawsuits from three fuel oil suppliers (Hess Corp., Global Cos. LLC, and Clark Oil LLC), with Hess alone aiming to recover $2.1 million.
Customers who pre-paid for heating oil that Bernie’s couldn’t deliver would be among the first to receive restitution from the liquidation of Bernie’s assets, according to Novak. The Day reported that Novak directed Groben to provide the court with records of which customers were still owed oil or a refund:
“If (customers) put deposits down for oil that was not delivered or only partially delivered, then they are entitled under bankruptcy code to a priority claim,” Novak said. “If I do recover money, it’s my intention to pay the priority claims before I pay general unsecured creditors. We’re looking for more assets.”
Such customers should file a claim with the bankruptcy court and detail why they are owed money, Novak said.
Whether or not Bernie’s Fuel or Groben have the assets that would be needed to pay off creditors is questionable. Bernie’s initial bankruptcy filing said the company had just $50,000 in assets. When asked about the value of his customer list, Groben said he couldn’t estimate a price, but as Novak pointed out the value is only going to fall as time wears on.
Bernie’s Fuel Oil is not Groben’s only business. He owns BFO Enterprises LLC, which he formed to buy Bernie’s in 2003, and a real estate company called DFG Enterprises LLC. In 2006, he purchased the assets of Clark Oil LLC and Family Discount Oil LLC, and also operated under the names All Aboard and Patriot Oil.
Groben’s primary personal asset appears to be his home, which he has five mortgages on. He claims that he got into so much personal debt by borrowing money to invest back in the company, completing the picture of a man both personally and professionally overextended.
Checking and savings accounts, vehicles, and tools were among the possible assets surveyed by the court. Groben’s account at the Savings Institute in Willimantic, CT, which holds $8,000, will have to be turned over to the court. Another creditor, Washington Trust, is working to secure some of Bernie’s trucks as collateral for debt.
Even as Bernie’s Fuel Oil amassed debt, and Groben took on debt of his own to finance the company, he remained convinced that Bernie’s could continue to operate and deliver oil. When a former heating oil customer asked Groben how he could wait so long to take action, Groben replied, “We thought we’d be able to make it through and meet our obligations.”
CT Heating Oil Company Pays $100k Settlement to Price-Cap Customers
Customers of Phoenix Oil in Stonington, CT who signed price cap contracts for the 2008-2009 heating season will soon receive refunds from the heating oil company (image: theacademy.schoolfusion.us)
Facing complaints of unfair practices from customers, Phoenix Oil of Stonington, CT agreed to pay out a total of $100,000 in reimbursements, the state’s Department of Consumer Protection announced on Saturday.
Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection announced that it had received over 40 complaints from price-cap customers of Phoenix Oil during the 2008 to 2009 heating season who complained that “when the price of oil did drop, they continued to be charged by Phoenix Oil at the higher cap price,” according to TheDay.com. Representatives of Phoenix, who did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement agreement, said they agreed to the payout because it was a better option than a drawn-out court battle.
The Phoenix case provides an important example for heating oil consumers of the main drawback of price-cap contracts: although the contract sets a maximum per-gallon price, dealers are free to set the price anywhere below that ceiling, regardless of the wholesale cost of oil. As defined in HeatingOil.com’s “Glossary of Heating Oil Terms”:
Price-Cap Contract: An agreement between heating oil distributors and consumers, price-cap contracts establish a maximum price a customer will pay for heating oil. In contrast to price-lock contracts, the per-gallon price of heating oil can fluctuate beneath the maximum (or “capped”) price.
Depending on the language in the price-cap contracts signed by Phoenix customers, it could be that the company did not in fact do anything illegal when it chose to not reduce its prices as the wholesale cost of heating oil fell. Pocketing the difference between the lower wholesale price and higher cap price is common practice among heating oil dealers who offer price caps. But rather than make that argument in court, Phoenix chose to pay out settlements to 535 eligible customers. In a statement, Phoenix Oil’s owner James Lathrop framed the decision as the best resolution for his customers:
We could fight an expensive, protracted legal battle with the State of Connecticut to prove our point, or we could settle this matter by giving a similar amount of value back to our customers. We chose the route that gave our customers the most value rather than (giving money to) the attorneys.
The Phoenix Oil case is similar to another Connecticut case involving refunds to heating oil consumers. In November of last year, Heating Oil Partners (HOP) paid a $375,000 settlement to customers who had been re-enrolled in the price-lock program without their consent. In that case, HOP also avoided any admission of wrongdoing.
Consumer Protection Department official Frank Greene said that Phoenix Oil price-cap customers eligible for refunds should wait for a letter from the company that will include a check in the amount of their settlement-determined share.
HeatingOil.com at AREE: Fuel Data Services’ FDSweb.net
(image: fdsweb.net)
Like every other service-based business, heating oil dealers need to keep detailed records of their interactions with customers. In the old days, that information was kept exclusively on paper—invoices, service notes and delivery receipts stored in a folder in an office filing cabinet.
Today, the collection and storage of all that customer data is rapidly going digital. Heating oil dealers have a widening array of choices for managing their customer data, including web-based software systems. Fuel Data Systems offers just such a system in the form of their latest product, FDSweb.net, which was on display at the AREE trade show. Director of Operations Janice Carne and Director of Training and Conversions Nancy Comerford spoke to HeatingOil.com about the benefits of FDSweb.net, focusing on the platform’s centralized, web-based data storage. FDSweb.net cuts out the cost of purchasing and maintaining in-office data servers, and because it is Web-based, data can be accessed from locations outside the heating oil office.
Paperless, Internet-based data management—that’s a sign of a modern and forward-thinking heating oil company.
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Exousia CEO: Payment of Heating Oil Dealers, Launch of PriceEnergy.com in “Weeks”
According to the CEO of PriceEnergy’s parent company, Exousia, heating oil dealers affiliated with the website can expect payments of their outstanding credits in the next few weeks. (image: exousiacorp.com)
Nearly a month after its “successful” debut at the AREE trade show, PriceEnergy.com has still not re-launched, and affiliated dealers have still not been paid debts owed to them for past deliveries. But the Chief Executive Officer of Exousia Advanced Materials, the company that acquired PriceEnergy in January, said that despite delays the website launch and payment of dealers would take place in a matter of weeks.
CEO Wayne Rodrigue told HeatingOil.com that a tight capital market had made it take longer than anticipated to secure the loans that Exousia needed to pay dealers, and called the needed capital a “moving target.” He emphasized that the payment of owed dealers was a top priority for PriceEnergy and Exousia, and said that he had deferred his own salary to help ensure that payments to dealers would be made as soon as possible.
Exousia had some good news to share on Wednesday: a press release announced that the company had posted its first-ever quarterly profit in the first three months of 2010. That announcement was cause for some optimism from Rodrigue, who said, “I think we’ll see an acceleration of the plan [to pay owed dealers], as some capital investors were holding off until after the Q1 statement.”
Positive earnings in the first quarter of this year will no doubt boost potential investors’ confidence in Exousia and could jump-start the capital-raising process needed to pay dealers what they are owed. According to Exousia’s recent filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, PriceEnergy.com could by itself be an enticement to investors. Exousia’s quarterly financial report (known as a Q10, it’s the financial report all public companies must file at the end of each financial quarter) shows that PriceEnergy.com brought in a significant amount of revenue in the first three months of the year:
Through its proprietary internet platform, sales of energy through Price Energy in the First Quarter 2010 were $4,343,885. Sales through Price Energy in the first quarter were primarily of home heating oil.
Despite the shuttering of its previous owner, Able Energy, it appears that PriceEnergy.com was doing brisk business as the heating season wound down, which gives reason to expect a comparable revenue stream next heating season after the website does finally get back to operation.
Following this week’s financial report, the economic picture for Exousia and PriceEnergy is rosy. And while that may be frustrating for shorted heating oil dealers and customers to hear, it is an encouraging sign that increases the chances of their being paid what they are owed. According to Rodrigue, affected parties can expect compensation “weeks, not months” from now. The sooner, the better.
Check back often with HeatingOil.com for updates on the PriceEnergy situation as they happen.
Thanks to HeatingOil.com commenter Tom M. for directing us to Exousia’s SEC filing.
