Home heating oil drop a relief for customers
'People are more happy to see us, that's for sure,' says delivery man Dalas Allen
The price of gasoline isn't the only fuel that's dropping in light of plunging oil prices — the cost of home heating oil is also on its way down.
This time last year, Aabel Fuels was delivering furnace oil bills at a rate of $1.17 per litre. Starting tomorrow, the company will drop the price to 96 cents — a 21-cent difference per litre.
"Some people are ordering extra just where it's so low," said Dalas Allen, a delivery man with Aabel Fuels.
This is the lowest price the company has offered in about two years. Allen said when people are spending hundreds of dollars at a time, that adds up quickly.
"There's more smiles this year than there was last year. People are more happy to see us, that's for sure," he said.
A look at home heating oil prices:
- Reliable Fuels: 97.0 cents per litre.
- Discount Fuels: 96.9 cents per litre.
- Aabel Fuels: 96.0 cents per litre starting Saturday.
Melinda Samson received a home heating oil delivery on Friday. She couldn't resist coming out in the cold to see the results.
"Almost half full," she exclaimed.
Samson said the price break is a welcome change over last year's prices and the long, cold winter.
"I kept a blanket on me last year. Now I don't keep a blanket this year," she said.
Allen said his company is getting up to 40 calls per day from people hoping to be squeezed in while the prices are down.
Samson said she's planning on topping up her tank around Christmas, trying to get as much as she can afford while the prices are still low.