Midwest Faces Propane Shortage
(KTNC) -- Propane prices are skyrocketing, and unless the weather warms and demand drops, one industry official says the Midwest supply of the fuel could run out next month.
Jeff LaPan, a spokesman for C-H-S Incorporated, a Minnesota company that sells propane on the wholesale market, says Midwesterners used about one-point-two million gallons of propane last week and only about five million gallons are left in the region.
LaPan says a combination of factors have led to this shortage – the shutdown of a key pipeline, below average supplies last fall, higher demand for propane to dry the 2013 harvest, and higher demand from homeowners due to the cold temperatures.
About eight-percent of homes in Nebraska use propane as a heating fuel. LaPan says this is essentially a perfect storm situation, calling the high demand an anomaly that's far outside the norm.
Propane prices hit a record high last week at a distribution hub in Conway, Kansas, while prices in some areas of rural Nebraska rose to five-dollars a gallon. A week earlier, it was less than half that price in Nebraska.
Elsewhere, Iowa’s governor sent a letter to President Obama on Monday, asking the president to ease or waive whatever federal regulations he can that might make it easier to get propane to market. Also Monday, Minnesota’s governor declared a state of emergency because of a severe shortage of propane and other home heating fuels.
© Nebraska Radio Network
MOST VIEWED STORIES
Holton woman killed in Jackson Co car-deer accident
Three injured in Thursday Jeff Co collision
Whiting woman sentenced in theft of fire dept. funds
Atchison Police probe car wash thefts
One injured in Jeff Co collision
Atchison Co vets to honor comrades Monday
USD 415 board holds special meeting
Two officers recognized at city commission meeting
HCF Match Day event this weekend
Paxico man arrested in Jackson Co on drug charges
Only minor flooding continues along Missouri River
Richardson County Board receives organization updates
HCF Match Day event raises more than $230K
KS DCF provides dollars for youth lunch
HCC hires new Vice President for Academic Affairs
Plans underway for " No Summer Hunger" program
Council approves renewal of employee insurance plan
LATEST STORIES
Wi-Fi, code locks, among VF City Park improvements
Atchison Co Fair fundraiser set for Saturday
Summer water fun active in Atchison
Gov announces special session of KS Legislature
Two officers recognized at city commission meeting
Brown Co Commission begins 2025 budget process
Additional Doniphan Co filing for November election
Kansans, Moran, honor fallen on Memorial Day
RELATED STORIES
USDA Boss Blasts Railroads for Rail Car Shortage
More Storms Possible this Weekend
Red Cross says Learn to Swim Before Heading to Pool or Lake
Morel Mushroom Season Underway in Nebraska
Nebraska Among States Considering Legalizing Industrial Hemp
Fewer Cancer Specialists Practicing in Rural Areas
Ex-Worker in Beatrice Abuse Case Gets Prison Time
Study Shows Drop in Nebraska Groundwater Levels
Company Plans to Open Biodiesel Plant in SE Nebraska
Governor Heineman Calls for Tax Cuts in State of the State Speech