David L wrote:

I've met with a couple of contractors already and I must say I'm still
not at all sure whether I want to go gas or oil.

First of all, gas, oil and electricity are more or less tied to each other, so
you aren't going to see massive long term differences in equivalent pricing.

Electricity is always going to be the most expensive for a number of reasons,
including higher generation and distribution costs, as well as lower over all
efficiency (yes, people like to point out that electricity is 100% efficient in
the home, but conveniently ignore the rather large line loss involved in pushing
it as much as 2000 miles across the country).

Oil has the problem of a limited number of refineries in the US as well as the
tie to suppliers like OPEC. Any time one goes down for unexpected maintenance,
prices spike. I suspect (but haven't checked) that oil furnaces also lead gas in
emissions.

Natural gas used to be significantly cheaper than either of the above, but that
difference has narrowed as more gas fired generators and industrial users have
come on line.

I would still go gas as it avoids the hassle of dealing with potential tank
removal problems, leaks, as well as the refinery issues.