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O p e r at i o n a l I n s i g h t PROPANE: Vermont Law Changes Shane Sweet S tarting July 2013, Vermont marketers will be subject to new law affecting the delivery of propane service to customers. Highlights include: • Terminating service to a consumer: Propane marketers within 20 days of disconnection of service (or if notified by the consumer in writing that service has been disconnected, whichever is earlier) must refund to the consumer the amount paid by the consumer for propane remaining in the storage tank, less any payments due the marketer from the consumer. If the propane remaining in the tank "cannot be determined with certainty," the marketer must, within the 20 days, refund 80 percent of the marketer's "best reasonable estimate" of the propane remaining in the tank, less any payments due from the consumer. Refund of the net amount due, as soon as the propane remaining in the tank is determined with certainty, must be made no later than 14 days after the removal of the tank (or restocking of the tank at the time of reconnection). service; or the date on which the marketer is notified by the consumer in writing that service has been disconnected. • Specific date & penalty cap: A consumer request for tank removal on a specific day requires the marketer remove the tank no more than 10 days after the date requested, or as otherwise allowed by the new law, whichever is later. Failing to remove a tank as prescribed requires the marketer to make a penalty payment to the consumer, consisting of: $250.00 on the first day after the tank should have been removed; and $75.00 per day for each day thereafter until the tank has been removed and the penalty payments have been mailed or delivered, provided that the total amount that accrues does not exceed $2,000.00. • Failure to refund: Failing to mail or deliver a refund to the consumer as required compels marketer to, within one business day, make a penalty payment to the consumer, in addition to the refund, of: $250.00 on the first day after the refund was due; and $75.00 per day for each day thereafter until the refund and penalty payment have been mailed or delivered, provided that the total amount that accrues does not exceed 10 times the amount of the refund plus $250. • Marketer protection: No penalty applies for the time during which a marketer is unable to remove a tank due to weather or other conditions not caused by the marketer that bars access to the tank, provided if the marketer within five days of the latest date the tank was otherwise required to be removed provides: a written explanation for the delay, and what reasonable steps the consumer must take to provide access to the tank. The notice must provide a telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address the consumer can use to notify the marketer that the steps have been taken. The marketer has 20 days from the date he or she receives the notice from the consumer to remove the tank. • Removing tank: Marketers must remove tanks within 20 days, or, in the case of an underground tank, within 30 days of the earliest of the following dates: the date on which the consumer requests termination of service; the date the marketer disconnects propane • Tank access: A consumer preventing access to a tank, either for removal or determination of the amount remaining in the tank, will not be entitled to a refund until the consumer takes the reasonable steps set forth by the marketer to allow access to the tank. 50 June 2013 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com • Price plans: Guaranteed price plans and prepaid contracts; a contract for the retail sale of home heating oil, kerosene, or liquefied petroleum gas offering a guaranteed price plan, including a fixed price contract, a prepaid contract, a cost-plus contract, and any other similar terms, must be in writing, and the terms and conditions of such price plans must be disclosed. The disclosure must be in "plain language" and must immediately follow the language concerning the price or service that could be affected, and must be printed in no less than 12-point boldface type of uniform font. A solicitation for retail sale of heating oil or propane that offers a guaranteed price plan that could become a contract upon a response from a consumer, including a fixed price contract, a prepaid contract, a cost-plus contract, and any other similar terms, must be in writing, and the terms and conditions of such offer must, again, be disclosed in plain language. This is an overview of the new legislation. Special thanks to Matt Cota, executive director of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association (VFDA), for his assistance with this article. VFDA member marketers seeking specific guidance on this new law should contact matt@vermontfuel.com. Shane Sweet is in management with a major Northeast marketer of heating oil, propane and motor fuels. From 1993-2007 he served as Executive VP/Director and Lobbyist for the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association, and from 2007- 2010 was President & CEO of the New England Fuel Institute. He lives in Shaftsbury, Vermont and can be reached at shanemsweet@gmail.com or 802-558-6101 cell/ text. Suggestions by readers for future column content are welcome. l F O N