A burning controversy over natural gas supply has left some New Yorkers out in the cold — but one billionaire has a red-hot solution: old-fashioned heating oil.
National Grid is refusing to hook up homes and businesses across Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island and Con Ed has declared a moratorium on new accounts in Westchester County, but John Catsimatidis says his United Metro Energy company is equipped to take on an "unlimited" number of customers in the city's metro area.
Even better, the businessman and ex-mayoral candidate is willing to grease the skids for those with natural gas boilers: offering a financing plan to help them convert to oil in time for the winter, and pay off the cost through a surcharge on their bill.
"If these people are stuck, we'll come up with a program of financing their conversion, so they'll have no cash output," the Gristedes and Red Apple mogul told Crain's in an interview at his East Midtown office. "Give us a five-year contract, then somewhere over the five years, we'll charge whatever it is—a nickel more or something—and pay back the initial investment."