“The oil we are selling burns so much cleaner than your traditional heating oil, and that’s something that was very important to me with my environmental background,” Densmore said. “I want to make sure that I’m providing my customers with the best possible fuel choice that they have.”
Jamie Densmore knows good heating fuel and she’s passionate about the product her company is selling today, which is cleaner and greener than ever before in her company’s 75-year history, which she discussed during the first episode of the podcast Mission Possible: Delivering Cleaner, Greener Fuel Today.
Densmore is the third-generation owner of Densmore Oil Company located in Stonington, Connecticut. Her grandfather started the company back in 1949 as a sheet metal company. In the 1950s, the company transitioned to fuel delivery, and decades later added air conditioning and plumbing services as well. Jamie bought the company from her father three years ago after obtaining two degrees. She majored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (E&EB) at the University of Connecticut for her undergraduate degree, and later received a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Northeastern University.
“The oil we are selling burns so much cleaner than your traditional heating oil, and that’s something that was very important to me with my environmental background,” Densmore said. “I want to make sure that I’m providing my customers with the best possible fuel choice that they have.”
Densmore Oil is a Bioheat® fuel dealer and the fuel her company delivers is a minimum of B-20. This means the fuel is 20% biodiesel, which is a renewable liquid fuel made from discarded cooking oil and soybean waste products keeping them out of landfills. The biodiesel is mixed with an ultra-low sulfur heating fuel to make Bioheat® Fuel. Bioheat® Fuel is energy efficient and does not require any upfront costs for special equipment or equipment upgrades. This means you can save on both fuel costs and maintenance expenses.
In addition to delivering the best product for her customers, Densmore said her customers mean everything to her.
“We are the first call most people make when there is an emergency even if it doesn’t have anything to do with us,” Densmore said. “If the emergency alarm goes off, a lot of times our technicians will get the call, and they’ll respond and make sure that everything is okay. You don’t get that personal level when you’re doing business with a larger utility.”
Densmore said her company is also a big part of their community and she enjoys giving back.
“We do a lot of business with the churches and local non-profits. A couple years ago, I had a church reach out to me because they had a one of their members who had surpassed her public assistance that she gets from the state, and she needed a new boiler. We happened to have a boiler in stock that fit her needs, and we donated it to them,” she said.
“That’s what you get when you do business locally. You try to help those people who support you. My grandfather and father taught me that we are only as good as those that we can help. I’m sure there are many other stories like that from other dealers around the state. It’s important to support those who support you,” Densmore added.
When it comes to on-going efforts to electrify the economy, Densmore said she hopes lawmakers and regulators will see fuel diversity is key to ensuring everyone is safe and secure especially during cold winter months: “I hope that the future for this industry is bright. We just want to be included and not left out. I think there’s a place for everyone at the table.”
