Blog

Now that the winter is behind us, dealers are reflecting on how things went financially and how to shift gears for the remainder of the year to get back on track with their annual profit targets. If you were like most full-service dealers, you experienced a mix of ups and downs over the course of this past winter. For the ...

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are, as the Declaration of Independence states, certain unalienable rights. The business world, and the delivered fuels industry (heating oil and propane) in particular, has enabled many people to pursue their dreams and create happiness for their families, employees and customers. The fuel industry has some great history. In 1933 Leon Hess, age ...

The New York Propane Gas Association (nypropane.com) announced recently that the state now has a propane tank “container law” on the books, reports Shane Sweet: For those who have not followed this process, NYPGA has been pursuing the passage of a container law for the better part of 10 years. Lawmakers in New York twice passed container law legislation, twice ...

Checkout pages are critical to your business’ website. There are two choices. Marci Gagnon explains. Marci Gagnon When it comes to designing your website, it’s crucial that you make your checkout page as convenient, simple and easy to navigate as possible for your customers. After all, the checkout page is where your customers ultimately decide to place an order or ...

“I’m proposing an ambitious series of policies to insulate our most vulnerable households from exorbitant energy bills, and to clear the path forward for a more sustainable future,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in her State of the State Address. “We’re calling it ‘The EmPower Plus’ program, and it will help low-income families retrofit their homes by adding insulation, upgrading appliances, ...

Fans of maple syrup might not know: Propane often has a role in producing it. Bill Overbaugh of Trumansburg, New York, is marketing propane-fired maple syrup from central New York State. Overbaugh and his father, Tom, have been making the syrup for years from the sugar maples on their property. The boiling process, which renders the sap from the sugar ...

Fuel dealers may add customers through marketing or acquisition. Steve Abbate, managing director of Cetane Associates asks: Is one better than the other? On occasion we are asked if it is more cost effective to gain an account through sales and marketing or through an acquisition. Over the years we have completed the analysis several times.  To do the analysis ...

Cargas Energy Summit returned in-person this year, bringing more than 170 energy industry professionals to the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, PA. The annual event gives Cargas Energy customers and partners the opportunity to take part in educational sessions, get a glimpse of upcoming features and enhancements, and connect with one another.   After two years with a virtual-only ...

Will the Biden Administration release fuel oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve? As of this writing the industry, and consumers, were still waiting for the president to respond to a letter from New England senators requesting that Biden do so. The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NHHOR) is a one-million-barrel supply of ultra-low sulfur distillate set aside to ...

Disputes, also known as Chargebacks, have seen an increase within the delivered fuel space and pose a potential threat to fuel marketers this heating season. A dispute is when a customer contacts their credit card company or bank after a purchase is made requesting a refund for the goods or services purchased using their card. Compared to other industries, Fuel ...