This most recent cold snap has John and Joy Cehlar doing something they never have in their Lower Township, Cape May County, home: turning on the natural gas.
The couple this month became new customers of South Jersey Gas, saying so long to the propane they have been using for the past four years to heat their house in the Villas section of the township.
John Cehlar said he switched to natural gas because he thinks it will be more efficient and less costly for his family than using propane. Folsom-based South Jersey Gas began expanding into the Villas last year.
“I can’t yet compare my propane costs with natural gas, but I expect it be a lot more economical,” he said Saturday. “Just recently, I saw the price of propane at $3.60”Propane pricing is volatile, and the average retail cost last week in New Jersey was as high as $3.75 per gallon, not including taxes, according to the Energy Information Administration. That was more expensive than in surrounding states such as Pennsylvania, at $3.39 per gallon, and Delaware, at $3.01 per gallon.
The price has been fluctuating this winter, but remains about 31 percent higher from October. A year ago, the statewide average was $3.09, according to the EIA.
Unlike natural gas or electricity, propane is not regulated by the state, so prices can differ from supplier to supplier.
For instance, South Jersey Fuel in Cape May Court House was selling residential propane at about $2.18 per gallon last week to fill a 120-gallon propane tank, while Steenland’s Gas Service in Belleplain was selling it for $2.38 per gallon for a 100-gallon tank.
“We can pass the savings on to customers because of where we get (the propane) from, and because we’re a small company, we have less overhead,” said Steenland’s manager Susan Fowler.
Most people in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Ocean counties heat their homes using natural gas or electricity, but there are still about 17,100 households that count on propane or some variety of liquefied petroleum gas instead, according to census data from 2006.
And Cape May County has the highest concentration of users in New Jersey, with about 17.9 percent of residents relying on it. Some municipalities and communities in the county have limited or no access to natural gas lines.
They include Cape May Point, where Deputy Mayor Anita van Heeswyk said last week that South Jersey Gas is still conducting a feasibility study to determine whether it can hook up the tiny borough of about 220 people to its system.
Van Heeswyk is a propane user and locks in a contract for it before the beginning of the winter heating season so she doesn’t have to deal with the ever-changing prices. But when the price dips, it concerns her, she said.
“Natural gas is regulated, that’s why I would want to have it,” she added.
It is difficult in general to compare heating fuels to determine which can be the most cost-effective because it all depends on usage, which is driven by temperatures.
Customers of South Jersey Gas might pay about $142.56 per month if they use the average 100 therms, the utility said.
New Jersey Natural Gas, which serves customers in Ocean County, says the average household uses 164 therms, which costs about $222.30 per month. The utility also is offering an $89 bill credit to its customers over February and March.
South Jersey Gas and New Jersey Natural Gas offer such credits when the wholesale price of natural gas declines. Natural gas prices continued to slide last week on the New York Mercantile Exchange because of new economic data that indicates there is still ample supply and limited demand.
Propane prices are influenced by supply and demand as well, and also follow crude oil prices, which have been dropping — which can mean falling propane costs. But users in New Jersey — and other mid-Atlantic and Northeast states — still pay among the highest prices in the country because of transportation costs associated with shipping propane from supply sources in the Midwest and Gulf Coast.
Larry Horowitz, president of the New Jersey Propane Gas Association, said the cold weather this winter has caused more people to turn on their heat.
“But you can see the response that people have cut back on how high they turn on the thermostat,” he said, which may be in part because of the poor economy and people trying to save money.
Businesses use propane as well, including many farmers who heat their greenhouses with it during the winter.
Matt Bruckler, an organic farmer in Egg Harbor Township, said prices for him have been a little more reasonable these days compared to a couple of years ago, when propane costs were high following the ballooning cost of a barrel of oil.
But he said he wouldn’t mind not having to rely on propane in the future.
“If I could use electric, solar panels, wind and geothermal, I would,” Bruckler said. “Unfortunately, that costs you a good amount of money. But that’s my dream.”
