A national propane shortage coupled with bitter cold is making it difficult and sometimes dangerous for households heated with LP.
More than 20 percent of Allegan County homes are heated by propane. In Ottawa County, it’s about 6 percent.
Michigan is one of dozens of states to declare a propane emergency this week. Gov. Rick Snyder also extended already loosened transportation rules to allow for longer hours for propane haulers to make deliveries.
An especially late and wet harvest put an early strain on propane supplies as it is used to dry grain. A lack of transportation infrastructure and storage as well as increased exports are contributing to the crisis, according to information from the Propane Education and Research Council.
Propane inventories in the region are down 46 percent from last year, according to the governor’s office.
“You have to be on top of it. You have to have more than one supplier,” said Hopkins Propane owner Kris Van Andel, who added she has been hearing horror stories about other delivery outlets running out of propane.
Van Andel has a half dozen suppliers, and in the fall she took on underground storage. Then she stopped taking new customers to ensure the supply for existing clients.
Most customers use 800 to 1,200 gallons a year, filling up in the fall, winter and spring. The cold has caused people to use 20 to 30 percent more.
Her No. 1 tip for those who heat their homes with propane: Conserve.
A close second is to clear the drive and the path up to the propane tank so drivers can actually deliver. Lastly, don’t wait until the last minute to order more propane, she said.
“You don’t wait to go to the store until there isn’t any,” Van Andel said. “Most people have that extra pack of toilet paper somewhere in their cupboards.”
Several states are calling for investigations.
"The industry as a whole should have been prepared for this," Missouri state Sen. Mike Parson said Wednesday. Parson is urging the U.S. Justice Department to investigate rising prices in his state. "We should be able to figure out what our supply and demand is."
The national average price for a gallon of propane spiked this week to a little more than $4, up from $2.96 from the previous week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Association. About 5.5 million homes are heated with propane, mostly in rural areas.
However, the industry is working with transportation partners, suppliers and state and federal government agencies to relieve market pressure.
"Our sense is that it's slowly moving in a positive direction," Mollie O'Dell, a spokeswoman for the National Propane Gas Association, said. "A lot of these immediate fixes take a little bit of time to get moving."