Philip Van Horne, president and COO of Niagara Mohawk Energy Marketing and chairman of the executive committee of the National Energy Marketers Association, said the real question is whether businesses want to hedge their expenses and lock into a price for next winter. Gas and electricity prices are related. The weather this summer will have an affect on natural gas. Hot weather this summer will drive gas prices up in the winter. If we get a cold winter again, prices will go up even further.
Energy efficiency is very obvious to most consumers.
There has been some use-side response to the high prices and the demand has been reduced somewhat. Holding the line Martin Henry, vice president of Kenneth H. Henry Sons Inc., a wholesale greenhouse in Hamburg, had to raise his prices 10 percent because of last winter's energy bills. We are seeing more surcharges on items that are delivered by truck because of the rough winter. All of our greenhouses are up and running now. As far as product quality, it remains the same.