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It's a pretty freakish
winter, that's for sure'
HWC President agrees
Reprinted from: Niagara Falls Review - January 6, 2007
Jennifer Pellegrini
Enbridge customers in Niagara
who use gas to heat their homes and water are in
for a pleasant surprise when they open their
next bill.
"Generally, consumption was down
about 20 per cent in December. The typical
customer saved about $36 more than they normally
would," said Lisa McCarney-Warus, Enbridge
manager of media and external relations. "The
warm weather (impacts) the amount of gas
customers use, and obviously, the warmer the
weather, the less gas people use to run their
furnace."
Last month, the company
announced customers will pay about $90 less in
2007 for heating than they did in 2006.
Customers who get their fuel
from an independent marketer will pay just under
$1 a month less than they did last year,
McCarney-Warus said.
Residents basking in spring-like
temperatures in Niagara aren't alone.
Warmer weather across much of
North America has resulted in
lower-than-anticipated demand for oil across the
continent.
As a result, oil prices dropped
to a 19-month low of $54.90 a barrel Friday,
before climbing back up to $56.
31 on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
"That's probably going to be the
highest price you pay in January," Oil Price
Information Service analyst Tom Kloza said.
"We're going to get a nice little energy price
dividend in January. If you're buying heating
oil, you're going to pay a lot less than last
year and we're definitely going to be paying
less for gasoline than we did in December."
The warm weather isn't just good
news for homeowners and drivers.
After 16 years in the roofing
business, Stan Duhaime usually expects to spend
January waiting for calls about ice dams causing
leaks.
Not this year.
"We just finished a 140-bundle
job at a bed and breakfast," said Duhaime, owner
of Duhaime Roofing and Repairs. "The customer
was a bit hesitant to do it, but I said, 'Look
at the weather, how could you not do it?' Now,
I'm going out to do an estimate for another roof
in Welland. This would be the time of year when
I'd be struggling for cash, but this year I'm
not."
So far, he has been busier
replacing shingles than shifting snow.
How many roofs would he do in an
average January?
"None. We really only do
emergency repairs in the winter. But we haven't
had any emergency repairs, because we haven't
had ice or snow. We did do three roofs in
December, though, which is about three more than
I normally would," said Duhaime.
To supplement his income over
the winter, Duhaime works as a snow plow
operator.
The lack of snow has caused an
unusual dilemma. The insurance rate for the
plowing business is based on his estimated
revenue. Duhaime figured he'd earn $3,000
plowing driveways and parking lots this winter,
meaning he's paying insurance, whether or not he
plows.
"It's still costing me money,"
he said. "It'll probably snow, but it's a pretty
freakish winter, that's for sure."
Proof of that, said Bill Dowd,
is the animals.
"Bats and skunks, which should
be hibernating, are awake and active. If this
weather continues, they're going to start mating
now, which is four to six weeks early," said the
owner of AAA Humane Wildlife Control, which
specializes in the removal of rodents from
property. "The squirrels are fat and healthy,
which means larger litter sizes. We expect a
huge influx of baby animals come springtime."
December through February is
usually slow in the pest control business. Bats
and skunks, "true hibernators," said Dowd,
usually snooze through the winter and wake up
ready to find a mate in the spring.
Even raccoons, which don't fully
hibernate, are more active, coming out to forage
for food, then climbing back up to attics or
into garages to sleep for a few more days.
"More and more animals are
active and people are hearing from them right
now." Most people don't realize there's a bat in
the house until they wake up in the middle of
the night with a bat flying over their head,"
Dowd said.
"And if there's a bat in your
living space, 99 times out of 100, there's a
colony of them in your house. A bat in your
living space in December or January is unheard
of. I haven't seen a winter like this in 20
years."
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