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Ky Propane Officials Optimistic About Winter Supply Levels

Flickr Commons-George Thomas

State officials are optimistic that propane won't be in short supply this winter. 

Last winter season, propane shortages across the state left many residential customers struggling to heat their homes and businesses. 

However, Kentucky Propane Gas Association Executive Director Tod Griffin says the outlook is much better for this year. 

“Propane supply situation is in much better shape than it was last year," said Griffin. "Even though we’ve had a bumper corn crop in most of the country and Kentucky, it looks like very little corn drying happened this fall. In addition to that, the stock builds of propane inventory has been building pretty progressively and pretty strongly all through the summer months. So going into winter, it looks like we’ll have plenty of supply over all for the industry.”  

Griffin says one of the factors in last year’s shortage was an abundance of summer rain leading to a longer grain drying season in the fall. 

"And that really put us behind the 8-ball because right after the grain drying season we had bitterly cold weather that came into the state and hung around for many months," said Griffin. "As everyone will remember, we had very, very cold weather with the polar vortex that came in and, quite frankly, the inventory and the supply levels just couldn't keep up with the increased demand for heating."

Griffin says prices may be lower this winter because suppliers have been encouraging customers to participate in pre-buy and summer programs. 

"On average, those pre-buy and summer sale programs will over the years put money back in the pockets of consumers," said Griffin. "We've done some surveys with members right now, the wholesale price is staying pretty stable and fairly low right now. Anything can happen, but we anticipate that the wholesale price and the corresponding retail price will remain steady this winter." 

Griffin says the PGA has these tips to ensuring customers have a steady and safe supply"

  1. Fill storage tanks now, before the cold weather hits. Many dealers have pre-buy or summer fill programs that encourage customers to top-off before the high demand season starts.
  2. Sign up for automatic delivery rather than being a “will call” customer. This allows dealers to better schedule delivery trucks and helps ensure that the customer won’t run out of propane.
  3. Sign up for budget payment plans. This helps the customer spread the payments for propane over several months.
  4. Monitor your tank. Know how much you have left in the tank. Unless your dealer requests otherwise, call when the level hits 25 percent. This will allow your dealer to schedule you for a refill in a timely manner.
  5. Have a professional perform tune-ups/maintenance on equipment and appliances to increase fuel efficiency.

For tips on home weatherization and energy efficiency visit the Cabinet’s energy website at energy.ky.gov. For more information from the propane industry, talk with your local propane dealer or visit propanecomfort.com. 

Rob Canning is a native of Murray, KY, a 2015 TV Production grad of Murray State. At MSU, he served as team captain of the Murray State Rowing Club. Rob's goal is to become a screenwriter, film director or producer and looks to the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie for inspiration. He appreciates good music, mainly favoring British rock n' roll, and approves of anything with Jack White's name on it. When not studying, rowing or writing, Rob enjoys spending his free time with a book or guitar.
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