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Propane inventories catching up after last cold spell

A propane supplier says recent winter weather tightened supplies, but customers are getting what they need.  Troy Thompson with ProVision Partners Cooperative in Wisconsin tells Brownfield the arctic blast before Christmas slowed some railcars coming from Canada but they’re getting back to good inventory levels. Thompson says, “Overall, we’re not in bad shape right now, and getting those little extra hours on the road helps us all out too because we may have to run a few loads out of Pine Bend, Minnesota, or a little farther than we normally do.”

Thompson says there have been some limits from their suppliers. “I just talked to my propane guy this morning. Right now, we were on allocation last week and this week but it wasn’t a tight allocation.”

Thompson says if railcars are moving on time, he’s not expecting any serious supply problems and he’s expecting inventories to be fully restocked before the next severe cold weather system moves in.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared an energy emergency Friday, allowing heating oil and propane truck drivers to continue hauling beyond regular hours-of-service guidelines after a similar federal order expired Friday night.  The Governor’s office had multiple suppliers report challenges including long lines at terminals and having to drive further distances to obtain heating fuel products.