Boulder County rural areas feeling bite of national propane shortage
By Joe Rubino, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The notice goes on to say that delivery drivers in the coming months will be filling tanks to the minimal amount possible to get customers through the next 30 days, and that delivery cannot be made to customers with outstanding balances given the propane supply situation nationally.
"We are asking you to conserve the best you can, as it is a possibility for all the local storages to be empty before the winter is over," the letter reads in part. "We need the cold temperatures, not just here, but all over the U.S., to break to hope for some relief. This is miserable paying so much for a commodity that was so affordable last winter."
Fred's is hardly the only distributor in the state looking at rationing in the face of shortage created by a frigidly cold winter, driving up heating bills and creating an energy emergency in many places across the country, particularly the Midwest.
"It has been crazy," said
Last winter, the retail price of propane -- used for heating, cooking and grilling -- was around
"We have 70,000 gallons in storage, but we have to keep our customers warm, so we have to go into the market," Wise said.
In its letter, Fred's noted that it's profit margin in not increasing in the wake of the shortage, as it's three main suppliers have all significantly increased their prices this winter.
'Sort of living in my bedroom'
One
He called the price jump, "to say the least, insane."
"I'm just shutting my house down and sort of living in my bedroom," he said of his attempts to limit his consumption, noting he doesn't blame Fred's for the situation. "They're doing what they can for people, but they are sort of under the gun too."
Tredeaux said he feels like one of the lucky ones, as he had flood insurance to help him absorb the cost of flood damage to his property caused by the historic September event, and savings to pay for his fuel. He knows not all of his neighbors are in that position.
In the Sugar Loaf area, resident
She said the couple, customers of Hygiene Propane Services, at the beginning of January paid
Thanks in part to stingy use and a solar heating system that on sunny days keeps the living room warm, Shannon said she isn't overly concerned about running of out fuel this winter. Still, in reading through messages on an online Sugar Loaf-focused message board, Shannon noted that some of her neighbors in the foothills are paying as much as
"I guess the big worry is that it doesn't run out for anybody before winter is over," she said. "But we don't have any control over that."
Prices up 68 percent over one year ago
About 6 million households nationwide, including many in rural areas, use propane to heat their homes.
The average residential price last week was
Industry officials have attributed this winter's shortage to a confluence of events: a Midwest pipeline being shut down for maintenance, a high demand for propane last fall to dry a rain-soaked harvest of corn, competition for pipelines and rail cars caused by increased oil and natural gas production -- and the extreme cold.
"It can be
There is no telling when the bitter cold that has impacted so much of the continental U.S. will cease, but forecasts for
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