Will Hudson Valley Residents Get Money Back From Their Oil Company This Winter?

This month, heating oil prices for Hudson Valley residents have dipped to the lowest they've been in recent memory. For the week of October 20, the average price for Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester counties was 362.9 cents per gallon, down over 10% from the same time last year. And according to state statistics, our region has seen a steady decline in oil prices since July.

How long will it last? Well, some experts are saying that we haven't seen the bottom and that the price of oil will continue to decline. The drop will be even more significant if the prediction of a warmer winter holds true. Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at The PRICE Futures Group, tells Fox Business Network that he expects the price of oil to continue to drop through the winter.

Flynn says:

We are in a new era of lower energy prices... What is happening in the United States in terms of production is historic. It is game changing and it is changing the energy universe as we know it.

Let's hope that's true. Last year many families were caught off guard by higher oil prices and a cold, brutal winter. Households on oil company budget plans wound up going over budget and having to cut a large check at the end of the year.

This year may be very different. If prices continue to drop homeowners in the Hudson Valley may save some serious money, and even find themselves staying well under budget. And I'm sure many people in our area would be perfectly fine with getting an overage check from their oil company at the end of the year.