Our electric company is a rural co-op (customer owned) and our propane company is one that is employee owned. Would this be the only reason that we are rewarded when using less electricity (lower prices when using energy saving devices and using less electricity during peak alerts, etc.) and penalized for using less propane (they always set the amount that we need to purchase to recieve the lower cap price at an amount that is more than we used the previous year). If we try to conserve the amount of propane we use then we will be paying the higher price. Don't get it. I keep hearing there is a shortage (at times) on available fuels such as propane.

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), August 15, 2001

Answers

Oops! There go those gremlins again :-) - should have been "received", not "recieved" and left off my question mark too. Bad, bad gremlins!!

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), August 15, 2001.

Terry, Quite often propane companies will offer a discount on larger volume sales. For the average homesteader this means purchasing a year's worth of propane at one time and having it delivered when you need it. The company I buy from will give me a price for 500 or 750 gal and I have one year to use it. At the end of the year I am credited ($/gal) for all unused propane. Then I renegotiate price for the next 12 month period. I do have to pay up front, but the savings per gal is well worth it. But you are correct. There is no insentive to use less. They offer no pre-pay plans for smaller volumes.

-- Dwight (summit1762@aol.com), August 15, 2001.

I had a propane tank 2 years .This spring I was told to use a least 500 gal. per. year or pay $80.00 deposit per. year . Had them take the #%** tank dont need it that bad lots of fire wood and my cook stove is gas but a 30lb. tank will last us for that about 3 months. Indiana Country Friend Jack Bunyard

-- Jack Bunyard (bunyard@cnz.com), August 15, 2001.

It does beat all..our electric company will give us a time of day rate..which for the two of us works great. They also put a separate meter in if you use electric base boards for a back up heat. This too is at a way cheaper rate. The gas (propane) company and I are at real odds at the moment. For 1 1/2 years, since we moved in this old house..we have had a gas leak. One of the wall units that they installed was leaking. Turns out the screw that controls the pilot was not even in it. Thats okay...I counted it as just a mistake. BUT I called them twice to come out and check for gas because you could so obviously smell it. The guy called me everything but sweetheart. Told me it was a dead mouse. (Trust me..living in this old farm house...I KNOW the difference between dead mouse and propane!) Any ways..the third time I called...two guys came that had never been here before. THey were not here two minutes before a little box they had with them went off and they took the front off and found the missing screw. For a year and a half .. we have been breathing propane. My plants and flowers were all biting the dirt.. and I had had such a green thumb before. DUH! They did not like propane either!! I so want to use a corn burner with the back up electric...does anyone have a good experience with the corn burners?

-- Sher in southeast Iowa (riverdobbers@webtv.net), August 16, 2001.