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What makes 162 the
“magic number” for
oil deliveries?
We go
beyond the numbers
to
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“We have the best team. I’ll take 600
home heating oil fighters who are survivors
any time. We can’t rely on the media or
the government, but we can rely on our
member companies to fight to keep conver-
sions down.”
CEMA also plans to take the battle to the
streets, literally, by making it more costly
for utilities to install gas mains and service
lines. The Association is asking members
to introduce a proposed paving ordinance
in every Connecticut city and town. The
proposal would require any company that
digs through the pavement to resurface the
street from curb to curb.
“Our goal in 2014 is to get all 169
municipalities in Connecticut to introduce
a paving ordinance. Many times what you
see after a gas main project is a 36-inch
wide strip that is five miles long,” Herb
explained. “They patch it and go away, and
it gets all chewed up. That is unacceptable.
The ordinance would drive up the price,
and that’s another reason for them not to do
the project.
“Mayors, first selectmen and finance
committees will love this, because instead
of them having to spend more of their
municipal budget on pavement, the utili-
ties will have to pay for it. It will save com-
munities money, and everyone will benefit
from it.”
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Connecticut oil dealers had already
demonstrated their mettle before the state
Legislature approved Malloy’s energy plan.
When the state held five public hearings
to gather input, more than 200 dealers
attended, and many of them testified.
Dealers also worked closely with the
association to defeat a proposed $.035 per
gallon tax on heating oil that would have
provided subsidies to convert heating oil
customers to natural gas. “That one never
even got out of committee,” Herb noted.
The dealers also helped defeat a pro-
posal to authorize state borrowing via bond
sales to help pay for natural gas expansion.
“The state has tremendous ability to borrow.
If there was financing through bonding,
that could have made conversions virtually
free,” he added. “As disappointed as we are
with the overall policy, our approach has
been to dry up the financing sources. If they
can’t get the money they are limited in what
they can do.”
Herb said PURA might have done the oil
heat companies a favor by building in the
premium or surcharge on new customers.
“If we’re right and the commodities prices
sort themselves out, you could see tre-
mendous price pressures on natural gas
customers in the future. He said the 30
percent surcharge rate is not locked in, and
the utilities might come back and look for
an even higher rate. Southern Connecticut
Gas has indicated that they would like to see
the rate at 60 percent, according to Herb.
“If they drive up the price of their
product, that’s not the worst thing that
could happen,” he added. “All that this
expansion plan has done in Connecticut is
drive up the price of natural gas. Consumers
will see higher natural gas prices because of
government intervention.”
CEMA is also considering legal action
against the State regarding the approval
process for the natural gas expansion.
“We believe the state cut a corner on the
general Environmental Protection Act,
which states that for any policies that
impact protected wetlands, you need to
do an environmental impact study, and no
one did that,” Herb said.
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Unlike the much-publicized struggle
in Connecticut, the battle over state-
assisted fuel conversion in Massachusetts
is happening away from the public eye.
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