In a few months some of us will be turning our furnaces back on, while others will resist in an effort to save some money. But at some point we all have to bite the bullet and turn our thermostat up. When it comes to pre-buying fuel you have to keep in mind that no one can clearly predict what will happen over the winter. Pre-buying does give you the comfort of knowing that you are locked into a price and the assurance that it wont change. You buy a certain number of gallons paying for it in full, and then use it over the course of the winter.
The down side is, if the cost of fuel sells below what you have pre-purchased it for, you have lost money. Also, if you overbuy the amount of fuel you need for the cold weather months and don’t use it all in 365 days, you lost the fuel. I have watched fuel prices carefully over the past 6 years. I can tell you that with the exception of one year, pre buying was not a money saver. I say this comparing the pre buy price to the Co-op’s standard member pricing. So, if you’re looking for price security and don’t mind if you end up paying more for it, we have a propane pre-buy currently going on until July 1 to help accomodate everyone’s choice. For more information read our 6/20/2011 post below.
