Book Description
The following discussion summarizes the survey approach and results of the Department of Public Service's survey of retail fuel oil and propane prices during the 1990--91 heating season. The semi-monthly phone surveys were conducted in cooperation with the US Department of Energy's State Fuel Oil and Propane Program, which coordinated surveys of heating fuel prices by 25 eastern and midwest states. This federal/state program serves as a method for fast collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on current residential prices. No other information source meets needs for timely retail price information over the course of the heating season. For the 1990--91 heating season, the Minnesota Department of Public Service (MN/DPS) expanded the scope of its survey effort to include regional price data. Surveys were conducted with 160 retailers, including 59 respondents from the DOE samples, to provide a reasonable sample size for each region. Fuel oil retailers were also asked for updates on their secondary inventory levels.