TRAVERSE CITY — A “perfect storm” of conditions (click here) is causing propane
prices to spike, hitting families hard during the coldest winter in
recent years.
Propane prices rose to a statewide average of $2.73 per gallon on Jan. 20, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission, although propane providers said prices are now even higher. Some propane customers locked in prices through price-set plans at the beginning of the winter, but others are now footing the bill of higher prices due to cold weather, shortages of propane and other factors.
“Some people have described this as a perfect storm of multiple factors coming together at the same time to create this supply problem,” said Judy Palnau, a media and public information specialist for the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Scott Overholt, the owner of Traverse City based Tri-Gas Distributing Company, said propane prices rose an average of 85 cents in the last week, bringing costs up to around $3.46 per gallon. Matt Stevens, owner of Buckley-based Stevens Propane, said prices have spiked dramatically....
This time last year the same community paid $1.85 per gallon for propane. In order to extract propane, methane has to be refined.
...Propane is in fact a different fuel from natural gas, (click here) though the two are closely related. So what’s the difference between these two fossil fuel cousins?
Chemical Makeup
Natural gas that is drilled out of the ground is actually a mishmash of several gases. Methane is the biggest component of unrefined natural gas, and is the one gas left at the end of the refining process. So when someone uses natural gas for cooking or heating in their home, they are essentially burning methane with an odorant (added for safety, it makes gas leaks more easily detectable) and a few other additives. Other components of unrefined natural gas include butane, ethane, and propane. That’s right, propane is actually a part of unrefined natural gas that is separated out during the refining process sold separately. Both refined natural gas and propane are hydrocarbons (nature-formed compounds made up of hydrogen and carbon). Propane’s chemical formula is C3H8 and methane’s is CH4....
Propane prices rose to a statewide average of $2.73 per gallon on Jan. 20, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission, although propane providers said prices are now even higher. Some propane customers locked in prices through price-set plans at the beginning of the winter, but others are now footing the bill of higher prices due to cold weather, shortages of propane and other factors.
“Some people have described this as a perfect storm of multiple factors coming together at the same time to create this supply problem,” said Judy Palnau, a media and public information specialist for the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Scott Overholt, the owner of Traverse City based Tri-Gas Distributing Company, said propane prices rose an average of 85 cents in the last week, bringing costs up to around $3.46 per gallon. Matt Stevens, owner of Buckley-based Stevens Propane, said prices have spiked dramatically....
This time last year the same community paid $1.85 per gallon for propane. In order to extract propane, methane has to be refined.
...Propane is in fact a different fuel from natural gas, (click here) though the two are closely related. So what’s the difference between these two fossil fuel cousins?
Chemical Makeup
Natural gas that is drilled out of the ground is actually a mishmash of several gases. Methane is the biggest component of unrefined natural gas, and is the one gas left at the end of the refining process. So when someone uses natural gas for cooking or heating in their home, they are essentially burning methane with an odorant (added for safety, it makes gas leaks more easily detectable) and a few other additives. Other components of unrefined natural gas include butane, ethane, and propane. That’s right, propane is actually a part of unrefined natural gas that is separated out during the refining process sold separately. Both refined natural gas and propane are hydrocarbons (nature-formed compounds made up of hydrogen and carbon). Propane’s chemical formula is C3H8 and methane’s is CH4....
