info@vermontfuel.com
and Training
Propane Certified Employee
Training Program (CETP)
Continuing Education Seminar
F.W. Webb—
Williston, Vermont
December 5, 2008
8 Hours of Vermont Approved Continuing Education for State of Vermont
Propane CETP and Natural Gas Renewal
Hazmat Certification Course
SPRINGFIELD DECEMBER 10
Self-Certification
The next round of annual self-certifications
for all Category One tank owners
is due December 31, 2008.
learn more at the
See the NORA TV ad campaign about the safety, security and efficiency
of Oilheat.
According to the Wall Street Journal, utilities are becoming more aggressive about collecting money from delinquent customers, leading to a surge in service shutdowns just as economic woes are pushing up the number of households falling behind on bills. The utilities say they are under pressure to clean out accounts that are weighing down their books at a time when their stocks are being hammered and earnings growth has slowed.
Getting Nervous According to the Rutland Herald, a wood pellet dealer in Rutland has put some of his pellet customers in a panic. Customers demanding pellets they bought in advance for the winter are on a staggered delivery system or what he called a "pellet bank," limiting the amount of pellets delivered in any given week.
VFDA DIRECTORY
We invite you to make your business stand out and to show your support of VFDA by becoming a directory sponsor. We are offering full page, half page, quarter page and business card size advertising opportunities. This is a great way to showcase your services to fellow members. Hurry and reserve space now, premium spots will sell out fast! To sponsor CLICK HERE
Fear, Driven by Wall Street Predictions of $200-a-barrel Oil, Created Ongoing Credit Crisis That Threatens Retailers and Consumers
A coalition of nine northeastern energy associations has appealed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to speed relief from the credit crisis now threatening small businesses and consumers across the country. VFDA is among those asking Paulson for an immediate meeting to discuss the nation's banking crisis and the effects that crisis is having on small businesses and consumers.
The problem is that during the summer, speculators drove energy prices to historic highs, and Wall Street insiders like Goldman Sachs routinely “predicted” that crude oil prices would soar even higher, to as much as $200 per barrel. When consumers demanded protection from these possible price increases, local retailers went to wholesale suppliers and locked in prices for their customers.
While prices have fallen dramatically, many retailers are locked into contracts that require them to pay nearly double the going rate for home heating oil. “These dire predictions from financial speculators created a demand for guaranteed pricing from heating oil consumers,” VFDA Executive Director Matt Cota wrote in a Nov. 3, 2008 letter to Paulson. The only way our retail companies can swap out their higher-priced wholesale futures contracts for newer, lower-cost supply agreements is to literally buy their way out of them and pay their wholesalers. Vermont law requires retailers who sell fixed-price contracts to obtain fixed-price contracts with wholesalers. Dealers have no capacity to simply let customers walk away. This is not a bail out. The retailers asked Paulson to provide access to capital under the Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act, so that retailers can work with consumers to get out from under the burdens imposed by the fixed-price contracts. Wall Street and the nation's financial community have gotten $1.3 trillion from the taxpayers. How long will it take to trickle down to small businesses and consumers so that we may borrow money and provide relief? Wall Street executives continue to receive bonuses under the Treasury Department plan, while Main Street continues to wait for the simple ability to borrow.
To read the letter CLICK HERE. To read the story in the Rutland Herald CLICK HERE.
ELECTION REPORT Vermonters
have once again chosen divided government by re-electing a Republican
governor and a Legislature dominated by Democrats. More than 100,000
Vermonters voted for Douglas and Obama (63%)—sending Douglas back to
Montpelier for his 4th term with 54% of the vote. Republican Lt. Governor Brian Dubie also
won a fourth term in office by securing 56% of the vote.
In the House,
Republicans held on to 48 of their 49 seats. The House will elect a new speaker when the Legislature
opens on January 7. Five Democrats want the job: Johanna Donovan of
Burlington, Mark Larson of Burlington, Carolyn Partridge of Windham,
John Rodgers of Glover and Shap Smith of Morrisville. In the virtually
uncontested Congressional race Peter Welch secured 94% of the vote to
send him back to Washington DC.
For a complete report on the election from a national perspective and the impact on petroleum marketers CLICK HERE.
60 MINUTES HIGHLIGHTS DEREGULATION OF WALL STREET
"60
Minutes" has begun a series of in-depth reporting on the deregulation
of Wall Street investment banks and the large role it has played in the
recent market collapse. The exposés also focus on the Commodities
Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) the massive piece of
legislation that was "snuck into law" in 2000 and deregulated swaps and
derivatives and created the infamous "Enron Loophole."
CLICK HERE TO WATCH
TURF WAR OVER ENERGY OVERSIGHT
In an emerging bureaucratic war that is sure to affect petroleum markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed comments blasting the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) efforts to extend FTC authority over the energy futures market.
SBA LOAN HELP The NEFI Legislative & Regulatory Action Center has provided a guidance document for fuel dealers who wish to apply for SBA 7(a) loans in order to obtain additional capital to meet the increased cost of product; to make infrastructure improvements; to expand or diversify your business; or for other reasons. This document details various types of loans available and their acceptable uses. Contact NEFI (617) 923-5022.
CITIZENS ENERGY The Citizens Energy Oilheat program begins January 5th. Applications will be accepted until February 28th and dealers will have until April 30th to complete deliveries in the program. The dealer agreement remains generally unchanged from previous years, except that the agreement now specifies that all heating oil blends, including kerosene and Bioheat®, are eligible; requires that dealer and customer arrange delivery date; and requires that all requests for payment be submitted by May 31, 2009.
LOW SULFUR HEATING OIL Industry groups and stakeholders, including NEFI, are working with the Northeast States Coalition for Air Use Management (NESCAUM) to arrange a meeting on Low Sulfur Heating Oil and the home heating market, sometime before the end of the year. We will report more in a future issue.
OPEC FOR NAT GAS According to the Christian Science Monitor, Russia and Iran are forming a "natural gas cartel" modeled after OPEC and pressing other big natural gas exporting nations to join.
Patch Chit "Split the Ticket" UPDATE
Nearly 2-dozen fuel dealers
have generously donated—
WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP.
Time is running out! All fuel dealers that respond by November 17 will be included in our press release that will be sent out to all Vermont media during Thanksgiving week. This is a chance to show that Vermont Fuel Dealers are going above and beyond in difficult times to take care of the people in the communities where we work and live. The Vermont Fuel Dealers Association's Patch Chit Split the Ticket campaign is one of the many ways dealers are helping out. For over 20 years, the program has been used as a statewide safety net to address the emergency fuel needs of low-income Vermonters. Visit vermontfuel.com to learn how you can help.
"We would like to thank you for the donation of fuel for our parents. They are being put through some great trials right now and having heat at home was very helpful. They never asked for help before and it was tough for them. Your program is a wonderful thing, keep on the great work you do during a tough time for fuel companies too! We really appreciate it!” —2007 Patch Chit Recipient