01/08/01

Cold weather forces propane declaration By JULIE SCHLABS Staff Writer

San Angelo propane dealers and customers continue to feel the brunt of rising propane costs, despite a recent emergency declaration aimed at providing relief for those trying to keep warm this winter.

The Declaration of Emergency Notice, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday, temporarily suspends a regulation that restricts the number of service hours motor carriers may work each day.

The limit was lifted through Tuesday in hopes of increasing the available supply of propane to customers facing more cool temperatures.

Local propane dealer Jim Ryan said the waiver will be important to areas with ice-covered roads where drivers delivering the natural gas byproduct are busy and have to drive slowly.

But the emergency declaration will have little, if any, effect on San Angelo.

Ryan said dealers haven’t been busy enough to exceed the 12-hour driver limit, which is required of drivers to maintain delivery certification.

Local consumers, Ryan said, are not as concerned about delivery hours as they are elevating costs.

Prices have soared from just more than a dollar in early December to the latest figures, which reach to $1.50.

Meanwhile, low-income households still are looking to the city and non-profit organizations for help.

“The poor are being hardest hit, as usual,” Ryan said. “I’ve seen aid from churches, from the city, and even from adult protective services this week. Meanwhile, we’re doing our best to accommodate everyone without becoming a non-profit business.”

The Department of Public Safety issued three emergency declarations in December that applied only to certain areas of the state.

The current declaration, which applies statewide, will allow propane dealers to increase their inventories so they may provide fuel.

During the harsh winter weather in Northeast Texas over the last few days, the Texas Railroad Commission was asked to provide assistance to propane dealers in the Red River, Bowie, and Cass county areas.

According to a recent Commission release, dealers in the counties could not obtain an adequate supply of propane for their customers, forcing independent companies to find a sufficient number of trucks in the Houston area and put the dealers in touch with trucking companies to make arrangements for gas shipments to the area.

As a result, gas dealers were able to keep up with demand, providing heating fuel to an area that was largely without power.

Contact Julie Schlabs at standard@texaswest.com

http://www.texaswest.com/news/4.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 08, 2001