Special 4-Part Report: Preparing Your 2013 Budget. Part 4: Fuel Oil
June 21, 2012 — One of the biggest issues co-ops and condos will have to face in the near future is the end of No. 6 heating oil, which will be banned from the city's oil burners by July 2015. The city Department of Environmental Protection will stop issuing triennial certificates of operation for No. 6 oil burners this summer, and will stop those certificates for No. 4 oil in 2020.
If you're burning No. 6 or No. 4 oil, you should be making plans to switch over to a dual-fuel system as soon as possible. Con Edison offers incentive programs to make the switch, but Joseph McGowan, manager of gas customer solutions, says the next deadlines for applying will not be until spring 2013.
Con Edison has a new website devoted to helping buildings convert, featuring a calculator where you input your oil type and some specific information about your building and oil usage to see what savings you can realize by switching to gas, McGowan says.
If you're already paying for gas, it's probably safe to say that you won't have to worry about a big price hike. "We've just seen that they are at pretty record lows and they are expected to stay at those levels or even go lower," says McGowan.
Halleluiah, Brother, Time to Convert
Chris Fazio, operations manager of Approved Oil Company, says that his company is very busy with conversion work. "In 2011, we did the most we've ever done in the history of the company," he says, adding that he estimates that prices for No. 4 and No. 6 oil will go up by about 10 percent in 2013. No. 2 oil, he predicts, will go up by about 7 percent.
"Given the situation we're currently in with the Middle East and Iran, plus we are also having some refinery issues in the Northeast — I'd imagine you can anticipate higher prices going into the next heating season."
Joseph Colonel, senior vice president of sales for Castle Oil, says he would not even want to hazard a guess on how much oil prices will rise. But he does say that several environmental efforts will probably push prices higher. One is a state law — due to take effect in July — that mandates a lower sulfur content. The other is a law that requires that two percent of heating oil be biofuels. "I think that those factors will drive oil prices a little higher," he notes.
Part 1: New York City Property Taxes
Part 2: Water and Payroll
Part 3: Insurance
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