Some Oil Companies offer a "fixed price" or "Lock-In" price which means that the consumer agrees to pay one price all winter no matter what happens in the market.

This delivery choice is "Cash on Delivery". It is simply a method whereby you select a company to fill your oil tank, they come, deliver the fuel, and bill you for the amount of product supplied. There is no long term commitment and you can select any supplier to provide these deliveries but you must monitor the level of your own oil tank and call for deliveries as needed.

Some Oil Companies offer a "Capped" pricing option where there is a ceiling on the price during the agreed upon term. If the market price goes lower than the "cap" price during the year, the consumer pays the lower price. However, the price will never go higher than the agreed upon "capped" price for the specified term of the agreement.

Some Oil Companies offer a "Pre-Pay" plan whereby they will sell you a specified amount of heating oil (700 gallons for example) at a particular price and you use the oil as needed throughout the winter months. Your price will not change until the pre-purchased amount of oil is used or the specified terms of the agreement expire.

This plan provides for annual cleaning and service for the heating system for an annual fee. Not all contracts provide the same coverage. Read the contract carefully. Verify the hours that service is actually available (not just an answering machine which is not automatically forwarded to the repair person).

If you select this plan, the oil company estimates how much oil you will use over the heating season. You will be billed identical monthly installments for 10, 11 or 12 months (depending on the arrangement).

If you have this kind of contract, your oil company will estimate when you will need oil and will deliver it without any prompting or contact with the customer. The oil company factors in how cold it has been and your past usage. This system generally is quite accurate. Typically, the automatic delivery plan is tied into the budget plan.