Heating Oil

The energy embargoes made us acutely aware of oil availability and price. Oil consumption for home heating has been on a steady decline ever since then. Many industrial firms converted their equipment to be able to switch to natural gas, using oil only during the winter peak heating season, or when its price was lower than natural gas. And, many home owners also converted their homes from oil as soon as the moratorium on natural gas extensions was lifted in the late 1980s. In addition, the recent EPA concerns over leaking underground oil tanks have created even greater incentives for homeowners to switch from home heating oil to another source.