It may be June, but heating oil prices keep rising.
The coming winter, heating bills are likely to be higher than ever.
Wood and wood pellets have traditionally been a lower cost alternative.
But wood fuel prices are also climbing in the state…. as much as 20 percent higher than last year.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s David Darman has more.
Wood prices may be rising, but Fireplace Village in Concord is doing more business than ever.
Mike Capenera of Franklin came in one afternoon and talked to manager Bob Gardner about getting a stove.
I I guess we’ve pretty much decided we want to go pellets instead of wood. My only advice that I can give to you about pellet stoves this year, don’t wait. I know. Pick out what you want to get, find a place that’s got a good price on it and buy it. Yeah.
Bob Gardner tells customers to buy now even though summer is usually a slow season for wood stoves.
He says this year has been different.
I would have to say at this point for the hearth portion of our business, we’re doing 80 percent more. …this year almost everybody walking through the door is looking for something. Wood, mostly pellets, the occasional gas stove, free standing gas stove…..
Customer Mike Cabenera says he dropped in because his heating costs are getting way too high.
Yeah, you know I’m going to be paying 4.50 a gallon for heating oil for at least a thousand gallons if I don’t do anything.
New Hampshire officials say heating oil prices have increased about 80 percent since last June.
Wood prices have also been rising, for pellets and firewood.
Harry Lewis sells firewood at his 130 acre farm in Concord.
He’s been cutting trees on the property, and then drying split wood in one of his greenhouses.
You can see how warm it is here now. This is apple wood and it’s all dried out. And the oak is drying out real fast. We cut that and split it yesterday.
Lewis says he had been selling a cord for 250 dollars through the winter.
But he says he’s thinking of raising his prices 20 percent because of the high cost of diesel fuel.
I know with us it will with us raise our prices because we’ve had to you know use our loader and stuff to pull it out and you figure one day at 240 250 dollars just for the loader in fuel so, that’s got to be passed on. yep
Diesel prices have gone up about 70 percent since last June.
That high cost fuel is also driving up the price of wood pellets.
They’ve been retailing for about 250 dollars a ton.
But they’re starting to sell for prices of as much as 300 dollars a ton.
Charlie Niebling says his company has had to raise prices because the wood they get is cut and delivered by trucks and equipment that run on diesel.
Niebling is with New England Wood Pellet in Jaffrey.
He says his company has also had problems securing wood and sawdust to make the pellets.
…the capacity in the lumber and wood products industry is down, because the building economy is down.
So the sawmills and the wood product companies that make furniture, flooring, millwork, cabinetry…their production is all down pretty much across the board.
And when those companies slow down, they don’t make much sawdust.
Despite the problems cropping up in the wood industry, New England Wood Pellet officials say they don’t expect any shortages to develop.
Of course, firewood and pellet customers can expect to see higher prices in the future.
But company officials say they don’t expect the hikes to be as great as those being endured by heating oil customers.
