Propane Supplies Are Dwindling In New England

In light of the weather forecast for the next week (very cold), this is especially bad timing.

In Maine, about 5 percent, or roughly 25,000, homes are heated by propane. Propane is used for heat by 50,000 homes in New Hampshire, 29,000 homes in Vermont and 64,000 homes in Massachusetts, and due to a Canadian railroad strike and the blizzard, propone supplies are getting dangerously low.

The storm delayed the arrival of the tanker Alrar into Newington, NH (Retired Guy and I saw her moving into the mouth of the Piscataqua this morning while we were up on the Nubble) where it will off-load 16 million gallons of propane.

There are four sources of propane in New England. Propane deliveries arrive via tankers at ports in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, and there's a pipeline terminal in Selkirk, N.Y. The fourth source is rail shipments. All of New England is affected by the strike against Canadian National, Canada's largest railway. But Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire are especially impacted because of their geography. Maine gets 50% of its supply via Canadian Rail.

As of Thursday, Downeast delivery truck drivers were taking steps to deal with tight supplies. They were checking the gauge on customers' propane tanks and filling only those tanks that needed it the most, but by next week, temperatures should normalize and lessen the demand.