The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/37443
AUGUS T VOL . 7 6 NO . 0 8 EDI TO R ’ S N O T E EDITORIAL STAF F Editorial Office 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 Keith Reid N The independence of your own fuel supply ATURAL GAS CAN OFFER THE homeowner some compel- ling arguments for conversion. However, one advantage with oil or pro- pane heat is that, as a homeowner, you control your own destiny. Recent sum- mer storms have knocked out power for millions in the Midwest. It’s not uncom- mon for winter ice storms to do the same in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. What does this have to do with heat? Not much directly, unless you warm the house through electricity. Natural gas outages tend to be rare by comparison. But, will that always be the case? We are moving into uncharted terri- tory where the foundation of our economy is concerned. There is a possibility, if you look at it from a glass half empty stand- point, that the future will have far more uncertainty where infrastructure is con- cerned. In other parts of the world such as Argentina, the impact of economic dis- ruption is clearly felt in the utility sector, where power outages and even gas outages are common rather than rare events. Were the utilities nationalized and government operated (and budgeted) this would cer- tainly be more concerning. But even with them operating as private entities a tough economy will increasingly strain their abil- ity to maintain quality service. I believe the recent storms provide an example of this trend in action. The storms were severe and caused signifi- cant damage that takes time to repair. But the severity of the storms was not all that unique compared to past decades. What was unique was the amount of time required to get service restored in recent years. My assumption, which admittedly could be misguided, is that maintenance staffing is cut to the bone to primarily handle standard requirements along with less spending on infrastructure upgrades that might boost reliability. Would this improve in a tightening economy, or become worse? I believe that for some customers a com- pelling “off the grid” argument can be made against a gas conversion, and not just for the survivalist set looking to heat the bunker compound. Further, extra business could be gained by a diversified dealer providing grid independence solutions. And the type of work required would generally mesh with a dealer’s existing core competencies. If there is fuel in the tank there is going to be heat. If you sell them a generator system there will be electricity even if their neighbors are stuck in the dark . And while a specific dealer might go out of business there will likely be another one around to fill the gap. Will it be an easy sell or represent a mass market – probably not. Nor should scare tactics be used to push the concept. But it can be positioned as added piece of mind for those customers with the resources and an honest concern over maintaining their current quality of care- free life. l FON Editor Keith Reid 847/720-5615 kreid@m2media360.com Managing Editor Debra Reschke 847/720-5618 dreschke@m2media360.com Columnists Charles Bursey, Sr. John Griffin George Lanthier EXECUTIVE STAF F President/CEO and Group Publisher Marion Minor List Rentals/ Reprints – Cheryl Naughton 678/292-6054 Fax: 360/294-6054 cnaughton@m2media360.com PRODUCT ION Production Manager – Mary Jo Tomei Art Director – Andrew Stamm ADVERTISING SALES East – Dave Campbell, Associate Publisher 413/528-2364 Fax: 413/528-8835 ddc12@verizon.net Central & South – Rich Alden 603/899-3010 Fax: 603/899-2343 ralden@m2media360.com West – Ken Jordan 972/540-2122 Fax: 972/540-2127 kenjordan3@yahoo.com MAIN OF F ICE 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 • Fax: 847-720-5601 CUSTOMER SERVICE 847/763-9565 Fuel Oil News P.O. Box 2121, Skokie, IL 60076-7821 M2MEDIA360 Membership applied for 7/1/2010 BEV-AL COMMUNICAT IONS INC. Marion Minor Gerald Winkel President/CEO Director of Finance Joanne Juda-Prainito Mary Jo Tomei 8 AUGUST 2011 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com VP Audience Develolpment Production Director