State of Nebraska
Heating Oil and Propane Program
2002/2003 Winter Heating Season

Annual Report
May 2003

Executive Summary

Nebraska's heating oil and propane prices were more volatile during the 2002/2003 heating season than the previous year.  Prices were impacted by the following factors:

  High natural gas prices;
  Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili;
  Oil refinery shutdowns due to planned maintenance and unexpected hazards;
  Possibility of war with Iraq;
  Economy in recovery;
  Colder-than-normal temperatures; and
  Reduced national crude oil imports due to labor strikes in Venezuela.

All of these factors lead to increased demand or lower-than-normal supplies during the winter heating season.  The graph below shows the range of Nebraska heating oil prices over the last two years.  Heating oil prices began the most recent heating season at the same level as the previous year but finished quite higher.

This report summarizes the results of the heating oil and propane price survey over the 2002/2003 winter heating season in Nebraska.  The Nebraska Energy Office conducted the survey under a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration.

According to the 2000 census, 68,768 homes in Nebraska, or over 10 percent, use propane as the primary home heating fuel.  More than 8,000 homes in Nebraska, or slightly more than one percent, use heating oil as the primary home heating fuel.  The Nebraska Energy Office recognizes the need for winter fuels' price information to fulfill these objectives:  (1) to provide information to the Governor and the public regarding the price and status of winter fuels, (2) to prepare the agency to respond in an effective, efficient manner to potential heating fuel problems, and (3) to improve the state, regional, and national pictures of the winter heating fuel status.

The responsibilities of the Nebraska Energy Office included:

1)  Collection of each Monday's retail heating oil and propane prices from 14 suppliers during
      the winter heating fuel season,
2)  Maintenance of price database,
3)  Weekly submission of the price data via an internet data collection system to the Energy
      Information Administration on a company-identifiable level to the extent permitted by State
      laws, and
4)  Preparation and submission of an annual report.

The responsibilities of the Energy Information Administration included:

1)  Preparation of a list of companies to be surveyed and the development of an estimation formula,
2)  Technical assistance,
3)  Publication of state, regional, and national data online,
4)  Review of annual reports for accuracy and consistency, and
5)  Preparation and distribution of a report to Congress, the states, and the public.

The Nebraska Energy Office has participated in the State Heating Oil and Propane Program for two years.  Each year, the Energy Information Administration provides the Nebraska Energy Office with a list of companies identified as residential distributors to be contacted regarding their participation in the price survey.  The residential price survey for this heating season began on October 7, 2002, and was completed on March 17, 2003.  Data from the survey was transmitted to the Energy Information Administration using the Internet Data Collection System.  The Energy Information Administration compiled, processed, and aggregated each state's reported data, weighted and stratified against other data streams, to estimate each state's average price.

The Nebraska Energy Office publishes the data in these reports:  Average Residential Propane Prices, Average Wholesale Propane Prices, and Average Heating Oil Prices.  The Energy Information Administration publishes the data in the following reports:  Residential Propane Prices by Region and State, Residential Heating Oil Prices by Region and State, and Wholesale Propane Prices by Region and State.

The average residential home heating charge price for home delivery of No. 2 heating oil, excluding taxes and cash discounts, in Nebraska for the 2002/2003 heating season was $1.13 per gallon.  This price was 26 cents higher than last year's average price of $0.87 and 13 cents more than the average two-year price (2001 through 2002) of $1.00 per gallon.

The average prices for the last two years' heating seasons are listed in the following table:

The average residential home heating charge price for home delivery of consumer grade propane, excluding taxes and cash discounts, in Nebraska for the 2002/2003 heating season was $0.83 per gallon.  This price was 6 cents higher than last year's average price of $0.77 and 3 cents more than the average two-year price (2001 through 2002) of $0.80 per gallon.

The heating season average prices for the last two years are listed in the following table:

Sources:  State Heating Oil and Propane Survey and the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.  Energy Information Administration, Office of Oil and Gas, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC.  Nebraska Energy Office, Lincoln, NE.

This report was completed on May 6, 2003.

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