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
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While the institutes have always shared the same goals—to promote the advantages of Oilheat to the consumer; to provide education programs to their members; and to support industry-wide standards of service and integrity—they were previously divided by region. With the establishment of the Upstate New York Energy Association, this division has been erased, as numerous energy marketers across the state now join forces to meet the challenges of their industry and the demands of their customers. Like the Empire State Energy Association (previously the Empire State Petroleum Association), UNYEA will continue to represent energy marketers who store and dis- tribute heating fuels (heating oil, Bioheat fuel, propane), transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel) and industrial fuels and lubricants. UNYEA will also con- tinue to offer all of the benefits enjoyed by OHIENY and OFICNY members, including instructional and training seminars, advertising and promotional materials, meetings and networking opportunities and a Realty Partnership Program that works to facilitate mutually beneficial rela- tionships between upstate New York's energy marketers and real estate professionals. For more information on the Upstate New York Energy Association, its mission and upcoming events, visit the organization's newly launched website: www.unyea.org www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | DECEMBER 2014 11 Kim Keil Joins Oil Heat Institute of Eastern New York Board (now Upstate New York Energy Association) Kim Keil joined Valley Energy 2 years ago. Her sales and marketing skills have led Valley Energy in many segments of business and she is extremely active with various realtor programs and in four Chambers of Commerce: Rhinebeck, Red Hook, Greene and Columbia counties. Amy Keehal Named Treasure Oil Heat Institute of Eastern New York (now Upstate New York Energy Association) Amy Keehan was named treasurer of the Oil Heat Institute of Eastern New York in June. She graduated Magna Cum Laude at SUNY Albany with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1998. She worked for 10 years in the insur- ance industry. In 2006, Keehal and her husband Kevin started Keehan Fuels, Inc., in Galway, N.Y. Keehan serves as the vice president of Keehan Fuels, Inc. CONNECTICUT CEMA Files Suit A s n o t e d i n t h e l a s t i s s u e , t h e Connecticut Energy Marketers Association has filed a lawsuit in Hartford Superior Court against the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, alleging both the agency and regulatory board violated state environmental laws in an effort to fast- track Gov. Dan Malloy's energy plan to convert 280,000 homes and businesses from oil to gas. FON discusses this bold action with CEMA PresidentChris Herb. FON: How did things get to this point? Herb: It's been about two years since Gov. Malloy announced he wanted what he called a comprehensive energy strategy that we ultimately figured out was not com- prehensive at all, but was about expanding natural gas. Basically, they wanted to convert about 300,000 oil heat and propane custom- ers to natural gas, and part of the way they were going to do that was expanding 900 miles of new lines throughout the state. Subsequent to his announcement there was an aggressive legislative session where they had multiple proposals to make this happen. We were successful in defeating all of those proposals except for one, that basically codified that the utilities would have to go through a docket at our Public Utility Regulatory Authority—PURA. So they were compelled to actually go to the regulators to figure out how to expand their business. We felt pretty good at the time, because if they had no money how are they going to do this? Ultimately what ended up happening is that when their attorneys went to the regula- tors, they asked for the expansion program to be paid for by new and existing natural gas ratepayers. New ratepayers would pay about a 30% premium if they decided to convert, and existing ratepayers would pay about a 10% premium to help subsidize the expan- sion and conversion program. FON: I can't imagine existing natural gas customers are all that pleased with having to pay the freight for the new expansion. Herb: It is inherently unfair. My grandparents moved to Connecticut from upstate New York right after World War II, and they bought a house that was on a natural gas line. Why should my grandmother, who's been a natural gas customer for the past 50 years, have to sub- sidize somebody else getting natural gas in Connecticut today? It does not allow for a fair and competitive marketplace when you have a state-sponsored energy plan that allows subsidies based upon cost-sharing among existing customers, who in theory SPECIAL PROFILE