SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 2000

Propane costs keep pace with gas

By Trish Hollenbeck Globe Staff Writer

Barton Energy customers were told to buy propane supplies early this summer, when the cost was slightly lower than the current price of 90 cents per gallon.

Even so, it wasnt much of a price break, given that last years per-gallon cost was 55 cents.

I cannot even buy it this year for what I was selling it for last year (55 cents a gallon), said Oscar Bronson, purchasing agent for Barton, which has offices in Lamar, Carthage and Fort Scott, Kan.

Supply is adequate, slightly below what it was this time last year, Bronson said. Propane as well as gasoline is following crude oil. Crude is trading between $30 and $33 a barrel.

A year ago, it was half that price per barrel.

This is the highest price for propane Lloyd Friend has seen. As manager at Synergy Gas Corp. in Joplin, Friend said he has gotten plenty of complaints about the price of propane. His price is 85 cents per gallon.

Hopefully, by July and August, supposedly it is going down, he said.

Most of his propane customers are holding off on buying supplies for the winter, hoping the price will decrease.

Barton is a bulk plant that gets its propane directly from refineries. Most of its customers are residential, with average storage tanks of 500 gallons.

The majority of these customers use about 1,200 gallons a year for heating, cooking and hot water.

Many of Bartons customers are farmers, who are feeling the pinch as they use propane to fuel grain dryers and irrigators. Some of them use as much as 2,500 gallons a year. Most farmers have 1,000-gallon tanks.

The increased prices are affecting everybody, but Bronson says people understand when he explains that propane prices follow crude.

They understand its beyond us, and its beyond the pipeline, Bronson says.

To combat customers notions that prices might still go down, Barton started the traditional summer prepayment plan this May, when prices were slightly below 90 cents per gallon.

All of the customers were contacted. Barton can store the propane if the amount purchased exceeds customers tank storage.

After this last price increase on gasoline, people are finally realizing its not coming down, its going up, Bronson said.

He does not anticipate prices going down any time soon. I dont see crude coming down. There may be slight decreases, $25 to $27 a barrel, he said.

David Stanley, retail manager at Empire Gas Inc. in Monett said he has not heard many complaints about the price of propane, which he said is in the mid-90-cent range per gallon.

Most of his customers are residential, but he has a few industrial customers, such as Miracle Recreation in Monett, which uses 1,500 gallons of propane a week. The company stores the propane in two tanks.

Stanley said the prices probably will increase.

I think its probably going to go higher until October and November, Stanley said. I think therell be some political reasons.

Many of his residential customers are waiting to purchase the propane.

Theyre hoping itll go down by the time winter gets here, Stanley said. Theyre just kind of throwing the dice and hoping theyll come up a winner.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 17, 2000