Fuel oil prices hit 8-year high on LI

Soaring heating oil prices hit an eight-year high on Long Island last week, topping an average $4 a gallon for the first time since 2014, state figures show, as colder weather gooses demand amid continuing geopolitical instability.

For the week ending Jan. 17, home fuel oil reached $4.02 on Long Island, a 36.7% increase from the week a year ago, when the price stood at $2.93. Long Island prices this month were the highest in the state, followed by New York City, where they hit $3.94 a gallon. The prices are tracked by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which hosts a web page showing weekly prices.

Prices have surged in January as cold weather hit much of the United States, and a crisis in Ukraine looms.

"Geopolitical stress is combining with short supply going into the season — it's a perfect storm of factors that are keeping prices stubbornly high right now," said Michael O'Connor, director of the New York Public Interest Research Group's fuel-buying program.

It's impacting customers like George Woolever, 74, of Hicksville, who received an unexpected shipment of oil from his supplier after a thermostat malfunctioned and blasted out too much heat last week — and a $402 bill atop a $352 bill he was just getting around to paying. "Somebody's got to do something," he said of the prices, which are cutting into his monthly budget. He and his wife are both disabled and living on a fixed income. "This is nuts."

Ian Donaldson, spokesman for the Public Utility Law Project, said it's not too late for homeowners to sign up for the Heating Assistance Program, which can provide payments to help those making under $60,000a year, including for emergency needs. He said he's encouraging all callers to apply for the one-time relief at mybenefits.ny.gov.

"If you are eligible for HEAP and you run into a fuel-related emergency, if your account is in arrears, there's an emergency HEAP benefit" for those who need it, he said.

O'Connor of NYPIRG said he's recommending that customers who can, opt for a budget billing plan to spread out the payments over 10 or 12 months. He's also recommending that customers turn down the thermostat, where possible, in small increments.

"Try to find a balance that's good for your wallet and comfort," he said. And customers can get a fuel discount with a NYPIRG fuel-buying program that sets customers up with dependable local suppliers. More information is at nypirg.org/fbg. On the watchdog group's current page, the weekly average price for Long Island was $3.359.

Nick Del Vecchio, president of Frank Bros., a heating oil company in Bay Shore, said while his company isn't currently experiencing supply issues, the fuel oil sector has been beset by a lack of truck drivers.

There's oil at the terminals, he said, but "there's not enough transporters operating." It's combining with other factors to increase the volatility of the market, where big banks are predicting crude oil prices of $100 a barrel by the fall. Prices have hovered from the mid- to high $80s for the past week.

Del Vecchio said those who heat with oil should get used to higher prices at least through February. He expects that if COVID-related shutdowns ease up by spring, higher gasoline prices could be the next headache for fuel buyers.

"It's really driven by what people think the price is going to be in three or four months," he said. "That plus [Russian] troops amassing" outside Ukraine has heightened oil-price uncertainty. "Traders may speculate [threatened Western] sanctions on Russia will include oil sanctions or import sanctions on Russian oil and there'll be less oil in the market," he said.

For now, Del Vecchio said, "I'm getting very few phone calls or pushback about prices," he said. Only those who locked in prices a year ago and now face the choice of buying on the spot market or locking in for another year at eight-year-high prices are facing sticker shock.

"Those expiring now are coming off programs at $2.29 a gallon," he said. "Now I'm offering them $3.50, so of course their heating oil bill just shot up."

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.