Cold leaves local propane supplies tight

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E N T U C K Y P O S T

Cold leaves local propane supplies tight By Debra Ann Vance, Post staff reporter

An unusually frigid December has at least one Northern Kentucky propane supplier in a pinch and his customers trying to conserve what little fuel they have.

For Bill and Bev Longshore, it means turning down the thermostat in their Campbell County home by five degrees to 65.

They are trying to conserve the propane that runs through their furnace and heats their home because they don't know when they will get their next supply.

''If we don't get anything soon, we will have to move out,'' said Longshore, 67.

The Longshores have gotten their propane from the same supplier for the past five years. They never had a problem until last Friday when they called Paul Tuemler, who operates LP Gas Sales & Service Inc., Walton, to order more propane.

''He's telling us that he's not getting any propane,'' Longshore said. ''Consequently, we're on a waiting list. He says when he does get propane, he will dibble it out to his customers.''

The Longshores usually keep their 500-gallon tank 80 percent filled. It is now at 28 percent.

The phones at LP Gas Sales & Service were ringing non- stop today as workers dealt with customers wanting gas, said George Tuemler, who declined to say what his role is at the company.

''We're getting gas in daily,'' he said. ''We're trying to take customer calls now.''

He would not discuss the supply problem.

There's no shortage of propane, but with the cold weather, supply is tight, said Mark York, a spokesman for Kentucky's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet.

After getting calls from area residents and legislators about propane, the environmental cabinet contacted Paul Tuemler. York said Pul Tuemler is the only supplier in the state having problems.

''He apparently is running low, but he's got himself lined up for some product to be delivered from Illinois,'' York said. ''We've also given him a couple of leads that he can pursue in terms of trying to obtain some more products. He's got a big demand from his account and his supply is getting down low. Right now, it's a day-by-day thing with him getting more product.''

Meanwhile, the Longshores are still wondering when they will get more propane. They don't know how long their supply will last. But Longshore said the colder it gets, the more frequent his furnace kicks on.

''We're doing all we can,'' Longshore said.

Publication date: 12-28-00

http://www.kypost.com/news/prop122800.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 29, 2000


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