Propane prices continue to rise, and Missouri’s U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt are demanding relief from President Obama.
A bi-partisan group is asking Obama to facilitate regulatory relief to increase propane supply in areas with critical shortages, which would both lower costs and provide federal assistance to states and communities affected by the high prices.
“Homes, businesses, and farms desperately need propane, and the shortage threatens the safety of families and the financial stability of farms and businesses,” the Senators wrote in their letter. “Thankfully, propane suppliers are already responding to market forces and taking extraordinary steps to increase supplies in hard-hit areas. Until propane stocks recover, the government should continue to provide and/or expand short term regulatory relief to incentivize these activities.”
Blunt and McCaskill joined 27 other members of the Senate in signing the letter.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. propane stocks have fallen far below the 5-year seasonal average. The most recent EIA report indicates that propane stocks are 24 million barrels lower than a year ago, a drop of 43.8 percent. As a result, in many areas propane prices have doubled, or even tripled, since October. More than twenty states have issued disaster declarations related to the shortage.
Read the Senators’ letter to the president HERE.
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