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Tired of paying high heating bills every winter, George Harrienger started locking in to a price for his oil before the season started and has saved hundreds of dollars over the past few years.
He's getting more company.
Natural gas and heating oil customers, fearing another winter like the one of 2002-2003, are signing up for fixed-price plans in greater numbers or opting for other energy suppliers to try to take some of the sting out of heating bills, utilities and heating oil companies say.
Heating oil prices are expected to be little changed from a year ago, when they rose to almost $1.90 a gallon at the height of demand.
Lou Polsinello Jr., the operator of Polsinello Fuel in Rensselaer, said the number of his home heating oil customers going with a fixed-price option has risen to almost 45 percent from a third since last year.
"It's because of the pricing fluctuations last year," Polsinello said. "They don't want to be captured by the price spikes."
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects natural gas prices to rise about 9 percent this year as supplies remain tight.
Central Hudson Gas & Electric, based in Poughkeepsie, said about 7,000 of its 67,000 natural gas customers enrolled in its fixed-price option this year, up from 1,900 last year.
Under such programs, customers agree to pay a set price for gas or oil, no matter what the weather brings. If the weather is colder than normal and demand spikes, they save money. If it's a warmer-than-average winter, they can pay more.
Central Hudson customers who chose the fixed-price option last year saved about $90 on natural gas, spokesman John Maserjian said, as colder than normal weather drove up the cost. The year before, fixed-price customers paid about $20 more as winter temperatures stayed above normal.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the Northeast and Midwest have equal chances of being cold or warm this year.
Some low-income New Yorkers will be eligible for help this winter.
More than $200 million will be available to residents through the Home Energy Assistance Program or HEAP, a federally funded program administered on the state level by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
"By providing assistance through HEAP, we can help families balance their household budgets and stay warm throughout the winter months," Gov. George Pataki said in a statement Sunday.
HEAP provides grants for heating bills ranging from $40 to $400, depending on the number of family members, household income, living arrangements, heating expenses and type of heat. Families who own a house or rent an apartment are eligible for assistance.
During last year's harsh winter, more than 706,000 households received help with their bills through the regular HEAP program. Another 125,005 received emergency HEAP assistance.
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