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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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | DECEMBER 2016 23 colleges and universities, Medicare and Medicaid dependent health care providers, and state and local governments unless the Administration can certify that the 2016 increase did not negatively impact these organizations. "The PPWO strongly supports the comprehensive approach this bill takes in blocking the worst impacts of the overtime regula- tion from taking effect. We look forward to working with you and other congressional leaders to promptly advance this legislation and prevent the significant negative impact this final overtime rule will have on both employers and employees." The Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO) describes itself on its website as a group of associations, businesses, and other stakeholders representing employers with millions of employees across the country in almost every industry. The Partnership advocates for the interests of its members in the regu- latory debate on changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations. The Partnership says its members sup- port maximum flexibility in structuring employee hours, career advancement opportunities for employees, and clarity for employ- ers when classifying employees. The Partnership was formed in 2014 in response to President Barack Obama's directive to the Department of Labor to "update and modernize" the Section 541 FLSA overtime regulations. The Partnership responded to the pro- posed changes to the overtime regulations with an analysis based on the principle that any changes need to work for both employers and employees. "We are deeply disappointed that the Labor Department largely ignored the concerns of tens of thousands of individuals and organizations across this country that expressed concern with the proposal issuing a final rule that will do serious damage to people's careers and workplace flexibility, new job opportunities and essen- tial community services," the Partnership says on its website. "We will continue to advocate for a regulation that is considerate of all stakeholder and economic realities facing employers and employ- ees across the country." J.D. POWER: AN ACCIDENT CAN HAVE YEARS-LONG IMPACT ON A GAS UTILITY'S REPUTATION In a year when a natural gas-related accident has made national news, customers' impressions of media stories about their gas provider are increasingly positive nationally. But after a major inci- dent, customer concerns regarding safety and reliability can linger for years, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. The study, now in its 15th year, finds that despite incidents such as the recent Aliso Canyon, Calif., methane gas leak that grabbed national media attention beginning in late 2015, the negative impact on customers' impressions of media news toward their utilities was fairly short-lived. Overall, 46% of customers of natural gas providers have a positive impression of media news toward their utility, up from 41% in 2015. While these positive impressions took a dip among customers surveyed during the spring when national media stories about the accident were at their height, they rebounded quickly. Over the past six years, the study has found that customer recall of negative news stories fades approximately six months after big headline news about safety. However, the negative effect of those stories lingers in customers' minds for much longer in terms of their ratings for their utility's ability to maintain a safe gas system. For example, ratings plummeted after a gas explosion in San Bruno, Calif., in 2010 and have just now, in 2016, recovered to their 2010 levels. "Perhaps gas providers can learn from the automotive indus- try—another industry where safety is paramount," said Carl Lepper, an analyst of utilities and infrastructure at J.D. Power. "When safety issues arise that put customers' lives and property at stake, automakers proactively and publicly reach out to customers and media to communicate what they are doing to remedy the issue. Gas providers should consider taking a similar approach in communicating what they will do immediately following an incident to keep accidents from recurring." Reflecting the importance gas customers place on issues sur- rounding safety, for the first time in this study all safety-related Contact INNER-TITE for more information: 508-829-6361 www.inner-tite-omco.com sales@inner-tite-omco.com Meets NFPA 31 Standard Superior Quality INNER-TITE Fusible Oil Valves are engineered to shut off the flow of fuel oil to the heating system when room temperature exceeds 165˚F • Easy to Install • Available with 165˚F or 200˚F Fuse • For Residential or Commercial Use • Listed by Underwriters Laboratories UL Listed SAFE • RELIABLE • ECONOMICAL PROTECT YOUR HEATING SYSTEM ® INNER-TITE Fuel Oil News 2016 Valve.qxp_Layout 1 8/10/16 11:28 AM Page 1