Heating oil price hike portends a tough winter

When contract customers of Eastham Discount Oil opened their mail this month, they probably shivered.

The price quoted to lock in a fixed price for the coming year went up by nearly $2 per gallon, from $2.85 to $4.79. Other Cape dealers report similar increases.

Fuel companies say they are squeezed between the rapidly escalating price of the fuel they buy and higher transportation costs and credit card fees.

The price increase also brought a chill to Cape agencies that subsidize low-income households.

“If we have a cold winter, and oil stays up at $5 a gallon, we could have a very tough time,” said John Talbot, vice president of the Cape and Islands district of the St. Vincent dePaul Society, a Catholic charity organization that helps pay fuel bills.

CapeCodOnline