As temperatures drop and home heating costs rise, Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners is renewing his push to help county home owners control costs.
Conners joined several county legislators on Monday, Nov. 19, in pushing for a county co-op for home heating oil. Conners first pitched the idea last year. The concept mirrors a 20-county co-op in western New York that has helped keep costs to a minimum there.
Conners is pushing his idea a bit harder this winter as home heating fuel costs have increased by more than 50 cents a gallon, bringing the fuel to more than $3 per gallon locally.
I was pretty surprised by the price last year between Nov. 1, 2006, and now, said Conners. `The reality is the system is being manipulated. Even the industry is saying this, that this thing is being whipsawed by the (oil) speculators in the market.`
He has come down hard on oil companies and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for making a quick buck at the public’s expense.
Conners is also pitching a plan to build local ethanol production plants to bring in local production and consumption of the cleaner burning fuel. The strategy is to ultimately take on local initiatives, for lack of effective state, federal and industry initiatives, to lower carbon emissions and rein in rising fuel costs.
First things first, a countywide co-op would offer reduced prices through bulk purchasing power, and participants would often see prices per gallon much less than typical Capital District prices, said Conners. The region has some of the highest home heating fuel costs in the state. The math doesn’t add up, he said. In all reality, home heating oil should cost more in western portions of the state where delivery routes are typically longer and destinations spread further apart. Not to mention a longer winter, he said.
Conners’ allegations of price fixing and the call to lower Albany County’s carbon footprint have been either met with objection or a lack of backing, he said.
However, other county official have been employing more immediate solutions to control emissions and make use of alternate energy sources.
County Executive Michael Breslins’s office is seeking additional green technologies, such as solar paneling at the county-run hockey facility, for other buildings, municipal and private through out the county, said county executive office spokeswoman Kerri Battle.
Breslin’s office has yet to speak with Conners about his co-op plan or the plan to build ethanol production facilities in the Capital District, she said.
`There are things that the county executive wants to put forth, like finding the carbon footprint of the county,` said Battle. `There are opportunities there.`
The plan so far has been to monitor and survey large buildings to see if plans can be implemented to cut energy consumption, she said.
However, Conners want to take action now before next year when he pitches the same plan to offset another 50-cent increase in oil prices.
`It’s cleaner air and cleaner water. It’s a win-win situation but it will take a while to warm to the idea. You have to push hard on these ideas,` Conners said.
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