Wood pellet stove fuel hard to come by

Prince Edward Islanders who turned to wood pellets as an alternative heat source this winter could be finding it's not an easily available substitute.

'With the price of oil so high, they were buying in numbers that they've never bought in before.' — Juanita Corrigan, Corrigan's Stove Centre

Supplies of some types of wood pellets have been limited this winter. Many Islanders have installed wood pellet stoves to reduce the amount of oil they use, and when the price of oil rose sharply last year, they made plans to rely more heavily on the stoves for heating.

"People were buying differently this year. With the price of oil so high, they were buying in numbers that they've never bought in before," Juanita Corrigan, co-owner of Corrigan's Stove Centre in Charlottetown, told CBC News Thursday.

"Instead of buying 20, 25, 30 at a time, now consumers were coming in looking to purchase a pallet, two pallet-loads, three pallet-loads at a time, so it did make the inventory at a much lower level."

The short supply is not just affecting the Island. Corrigan said there is less product to go around this winter because sawmills have closed. The store has only been able to take in about half the inventory it has in past years, and as soon as soon as a shipment comes in, it's gone.

Demand is continuing to rise as more people buy pellet stoves, but Corrigan said her supplier has promised there won't be a shortage next year.