According to a recent Washington Post article, the island of Murano is having trouble keeping their furnaces going due to the increase in the cost of fuel. The furnaces cannot be turned on and off because the cost to restart them is very high. They burn 24 hours a day—they only shut down in August for maintenance. If Murano has fewer operational furnaces, they will produce less art glass, and eventually glass makers will close shop. The remaining makers will raise prices to offset the huge increase that fuel has incurred lately. Switching to alternative fuel is a good option for the future, but that will take massive investment and will take a very long time to make the conversions.
Read more here.