While Sen. Bernie Sanders has been railing against the high price of gasoline in Chittenden County, a buyers’ cooperative in northwestern Vermont is focused on the cost of a different kind of fuel.
The Hilltop Energy Buyers Group, a new fuel-buyers’ cooperative that launched over the summer, uses the collective buying power of its members to negotiate below-market prices for home heating fuel.
Peter Katz is co-founder of Hilltop Energy Buyers Group. Since June, when Katz and his partner, Jason Marias, first began negotiations with local fuel providers, the group has signed up about 200 members, who were able to lock in a one-year fixed rate for propane at below-market prices.
“We’re definitely getting some favorable feedback,” says Katz. “People are talking about us, and I know the [fuel] companies are talking about us. They now know we’re out there.”
Katz explains how the buyers’ group works: Members pay a $50 annual fee to join, which allows Hilltop Energy to act as their fuel “broker” and negotiate the lowest price for members. Customers still continue dealing with the provider — which this year is Amerigas — for service and maintenance, and pay their bills directly to that company.
For now, propane is the only home heating fuel for which Hilltop has been able to secure a discounted price. Still, the savings have been impressive. For the 2012-13 season, Hilltop clients are paying $2.60 per gallon for up to 400 gallons, $2.25 per gallon for 400 to 899 gallons, and $2.10 per gallon for 900 gallons or more. Those prices are fixed until August 2013.
How do those rates stack up to current market prices?
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