OT a bit - Propane prices

[IGot2P]

Here in extreme SE Iowa we heat both our newish two story home and our

1,200 sq. ft. shop with propane fired high efficiency furnaces. Normally we contract the winter supply in the fall but this year they wanted $1.699/gallon so we gambled that it would not go up and possibly go down and did not contract.

Well, we just got our first winter fill (approx. 300 gallons) and the price was $1.699 thus so far nothing has changed. OTOH, the real cold weather is not here yet so there is definitely a chance it will go up in the near future. :-(

For some reason unknown to me propane is usually less expensive in this immediate area than it is in other parts of the country. Anyone else got any current prices from around the US?

Happy Holidays,

Don

[willshak]

IGot2P wrote the following:

Consider yourself lucky. My last propane bill (November) was $141.01 for

43.4 gallons. That's $3.249 a gallon.

[Jules Richardson]

I think ours was $1.85/gal around this time *last* year up here in northern MN. We'll be ordering more in about 2 weeks' time so I'm not sure what it's at right now.

It's frustrating how much the prices do fluctuate though, even in the same region - I hate playing the "gamble on when best to buy" game. About half of our house heating is electric baseboard, and prices for that are a lot more stable (and generally competitive with propane costs for the season)

cheers

Jules

[DA]

Lucky indeed. I paid $3.20 about a month ago and, according to US E.I.A.

1-week old data, average residential propane was at $2.598 on 12/06/2010, 26% up from this time last year ( ) .

Slightly off-topic though: they delivered only 43.4 gallons?

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[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

Will is in Hamptonburg, NY. I'm a couple hours north of him, near Schenectady, NY.

My delivery last week was $4.19 - up $.66 from Nov- and up $1.15 from last Dec.

Jim

[DA]

It's a shame US EIA only tracks residential propane prices during the heating season in October-April but according to their data going back to

1990, October is always, without fail, the best time to buy. I would be curious to know what the prices are in, say, September or at any other point outside the heating season. Anyone knows? I use LPG for hot water as well and it may make sense to do one fill in late summer or in September.

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[willshak]

DA wrote the following:

Automatic delivery. They just top it off every other month or so whether I need it or not..

[DA]

I see... I actually have automatic delivery, too, but they will never come until they are very extra sure they can fill 300+ gallons. Every bill I had so far with this company was for $800+ and edging more towards $1,100 this year ...

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[willshak]

DA wrote the following:

I only use LP for the counter top range (wall ovens are electric), water heating, and the clothes dryer. I use fuel oil for house heating.

[Jim Elbrecht]

I have auto delivery & a 100 gallon tank. They deliver between 32 and 60 gallons every 6 weeks or so.

I've asked for a bigger tank so they didn't have to negotiate my driveway in the winter and for some reason they'd rather stick with this setup.

Jim

[IGot2P]

We also have automatic delivery (the supplier calls it a "keep full" agreement) but they don't deliver until it gets down pretty low. I actually have two tanks, 1 - 500 gallon for the house and 1 - 250 gallon for the shop. Fortunately in the winter I am not in the shop that often thus the thermostat is normally set on 48 degrees F. In short, the shop does not use much LP.

When the "organized half" gets home I will have her see if you can find what we paid the last few years when we contracted it. I must say that these Midwest prices are great compared to the NE.

Don

[notbob]

I jes paid $2 per. It was $1.5 something last year and almost $3 a couple yrs ago. It's like gas, all over the map. I'm jes glad I don't use kerosene. EIGHT DOLLARS A GALLON!!

nb

[Tegger]

IGot2P wrote in news:5PednYxTZaOlPpvQnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

The commodity's prices are the same everywhere. Any differences will be due to local taxes (very high in the NE), and delivery policies.

[chaniarts]

and transportation and labor and warehousing costs.

and perhaps the company owner's boat payment schedule.

[Tegger]

Tegger wrote in news:Xns9E4DBF788E036tegger@208.90.168.18:

And possibly local safety regulations.

[Robert Neville]

You may find this Dept of Energy website interesting.

[Robert Neville]

No, they aren't. Propane prices are influenced by a number of factors, including regional demand (ie crop drying), what the dominate energy source in the region is, how easy it is for industrial users to switch energy sources, whether the propane (actually LPG as the blend varianies depending on the region) comes from LNG tankers or local refineries, domestic wells, etc.

[Robert Neville]

A few years ago, the breakeven between electricity and propane for heat in this area was about $2/gal. Summer and fall fills were running between $1.75 and $1.85, deep winter fills were peaking around $2.40/gal, delivered on an autro fill contract.

In the last couple of years the local electricity prices have jumped up about

25%, so the breakeven is a lot higher now. There are web based calculators around that compute the actual number.

I've debated replacing my 500 gal tank that needs 3-4 refills a year with a 1000 gal tank, but the savings for my relatively low use hasn't been enough to get me to do it.

[krw]

I have automatic delivery too. I had 25 gallons when they stopped by and decided that I had enough (it's just for a gas fireplace, but...). :-( Really strange.

[Tegger]

Robert Neville wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I hadn't considered that. There's a lot more agriculture in the midwest than in NYS.

More I hadn't thought of.

Sounds to me like the price differences between regions are quite legitimate and reasonable.