Attention
Cooperative Energy Propane Customers
Propane prices have spiked and are
continuing higher each day. In seven days, Cooperative Energy saw
a $2.76 per gallon increase in the cost of propane.
On Monday, January 27, 2014, Cooperative
Energy made the decision to only partially fill customer's propane tanks
due to the high price of propane.
We have also, for the time being, lowered
our minimum delivery to 150 gallons.
This is in hope that the price will soften
soon in the coming days. We are doing our best to take our
customers' checkbooks into consideration.
No one wins with high prices. As we
partially fill your tank, you will notice a note attached to your bill:
Please be aware that Cooperative Energy PARTIALLY filled your
propane tank due to the instability of propane prices.
We ask that you assist us in watching the percentage in your tank.
If your tank falls below 20%, please notify us to schedule a
delivery. 1-800-342-7360
So the question that you may be
asking...Why the high prices? The main reason for this is
simply supply and demand.
The northern 2/3 of the United States
has had below normal temperatures for the past 55 days or more.
Propane supply started out adequate for
a normal winter (which is about 16.9 million barrels).
Since then, we have seen a strong corn
drying season go straight into homeheating season with no break
between to build inventories back up.
On January 17, 2014, propane inventory
was 10.2 million barrels. This was 10 million barrels behind
the same time last year.
When the terminal in Conway, KS reaches
4-7 million barrels, that will be critical to the Midwest.
They will not be able to supply the Enterprise pipeline system.
All pipelines went on allocations
December 18, 2013. What does this mean? It means that
they give us a certain number of loads that we have to pick up from
the terminal each day.
In turn, we cannot purchase from any
other terminal other than where our loads are allocated. (Sanborn,
IA and Conway, KS)
At this point, Cooperative Energy's
allocation has been over its needs. We want to assure our
customers that the right thing to do is to still let us watch your
tank when the price issues settle down.
We will go back to minimum of 200
gallons and filling as normal when prices retreat to under $2.00 per
gallon.
Our government officials say they will
look into this issue and that more energy assistance is on the way.
We hope that you understand this
situation and we will try to do our part in assisting you through
this propane crisis.
Thank you for your time,
Brian S. Dreessen
General Manager
Mission Statement
To Provide
excellent services and products
in a safe
environment that will enhance the
profitability of both the patron and the company |