# Major Propane Crisis in Midwest and Elsewhere

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-propane-crisis-in-midwest-and-elsewhere/679730>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 26, 2014, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-propane-crisis-in-midwest-and-elsewhere/679730 "2014-01-26T05:00:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-propane-crisis-in-midwest-and-elsewhere/679730/1 "2014-01-26T05:00:57Z")

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Propane is a major heating fuel for people in the rural Midwest and elsewhere. Something like 6 million households and 900,000 farmers rely on it. In the last few days propane prices have tripled (now $5 or so a gallon). Apparently the causes are a number of things: very cold weather, farmers using substantially more propane for grain drying than usual, pipeline down for maintenance, suppliers selling propane overseas instead of stockpiling it…

Is anyone here affected? I don’t think I will be–I paid for all the propane I expect to use last summer so I won’t be affected by the price changes. Since suppliers give priority to residential users I expect to get delivery.

> **[Propane shortage reaches emergency levels](https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-propane-shortage-20140126-story.html)**
>
> With frigid temperatures expected to continue, suppliers are rationing propane and officials are urging consumers to conserve it. Some accuse suppliers of price gouging.