What you can do
• Call the non-emergency number of your local sheriff's department if you need the location of a local warming shelter or other local resources. As always, call 911 for an emergency.
• Check on friends, neighbors and loved ones to ensure everyone has a warm place to stay.
• Call toll-free 1-866-HEATWIS (432-8947) for information about where you can purchase propane in your area, or to apply for assistance towards your propane heating bill.
• To apply for heating assistance through the WHEAP program, go to www.homeenergyplus.wi.gov. Your local agency will determine eligibility for heating benefits based upon your household income, size, and the home's heating costs. If you are eligible, the WHEAP program will make a payment directly to your fuel supplier towards the cost of your propane. These benefits are available through May 15, 2014. Your local agency will also determine if you are eligible for Crisis Benefits.
• If you leave your home for an extended period, turn off the water and drain your pipes to ensure the pipes do not freeze in your absence.
• If you need assistance with your pet, please call your local warming shelter/human services agency as some warming shelters also offer pet shelter.
• Donate to the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund (KWWF) to help those impacted by the crisis. Credit card donations accepted online at www.kwwf.org/donate or by phone at 608-333-0809.
Customers nervous about running out of their primary heating fuel are keeping local propane suppliers hopping, more so than normally, checking on the availability of the pricey natural resource.
And then, there are those who are calling county and state agencies for financial assistance to purchase the hot asset.
"We got hit by the perfect storm," said Chet Johnson, owner of Badger State Propane, Monroe.
The short supply followed by a spike in price was caused by late-fall grain drying, exporting of the country's propane and now the arctic blast, Johnson said Friday.
His family-run company is doing a type of rationing, with a close eye on every customer's historic usage, but customers are getting all the propane supply he is receiving daily, he said.
"We're trying to keep everybody going, and still keep the price down per delivery," Johnson said.
The price of propane is spiking - jumping by as much as $3 per gallon one week, according to Johnson.
Consumers are finding propane prices to be very high compared to what they were just a couple of months ago. In Wisconsin the price is hitting all-time highs, based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration's 23-year record.
The residential price for propane on Jan. 20 averaged $2.30 per gallon, compared to $1.68 on Oct. 7, 2013, the beginning of the 2013 heating season.
The highest prices in Wisconsin on EIA record was on March 10, 2008, when it reached $2.35 a gallon, and fell only slightly to start the 2008 fall heating season in October at $2.34 per gallon.
A year ago, residents started the 2012 heating season at $1.46 per gallon, and propane reached its peak at $1.57 by mid-March.
Heating assistance available
Mark Nelson at Green County Human Services, Economic Support, said he has seen a marked increase in requests for assistance. Last week his office was receiving three to four calls per day, compared to one or two a week normally, he said.
"There is a potential problem coming" as prices increase, he said, but the county has access to a state crisis program allowing funds to clients in need.
On Monday, Jan. 27, Gov. Scott Walker instructed the Department of Administration's Division of Energy Services to release an additional $7 million in energy assistance benefits, for a total of $8.5 million in additional funds, to help support low-income Wisconsin residents who use propane to heat their homes. The $7 million is in addition to the $1.5 million that was released on Jan. 24.
Nelson encourages those who need assistance to apply though his office. Qualifying for fuel assistance is relatively easy, because income limits are high, he added.
Nelson also advises his clients to keep an eye on their propane tanks and notify his agency before their supply gets too low. By notifying him early in the day, Nelson said he can arrange delivery that day, before the trucks leave on their rounds.
Dealers looking for assistance
Johnson said he is treating the propane shortage "like the farmers treated the drought (in 2012) - tightening our belts and making friends with the banker."
The governor has directed the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to move forward with a combined $8 million in loan guarantee programs to help ensure propane dealers are able to obtain propane on the wholesale market and deliver it to consumers.
On Jan. 19, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, extended the state of emergency due to extreme cold temperatures and propane shortage called by Walker Dec. 24. The governor's declaration was set to expire Jan. 22. The declaration of emergency triggers temporary suspension of certain federal safety regulations, including hours of service and vehicle weight limits, for drivers and vehicles engaged in specific aspects of the emergency relief effort - in this case, delivery of propane.
REGIONAL EMERGENCY
The propane supply crunch is affecting 24 states, not just Wisconsin. The FMCSA Midwest regional declaration covers Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin until Feb. 11 or until the emergency is declared over.
Walker noted in his radio address Thursday, Jan 23 that supplies of propane across the Midwest are tight because of several factors:
n A late corn harvest combined with heavy rains created a higher propane use later in the season. This caused an inventory draw down prior to the main propane heating season.
n Loss of a supply pipeline in Iowa and Minnesota for about a month.
n Wisconsin's winter has been about 8 percent colder than normal.
n Rising exports and constrained rail service.
Propane marketers in Wisconsin are working to ensure that customers have propane to heat their homes this winter. But, often this means local propane companies can deliver only 100 gallons or so at a time to ensure that all customers get fuel.
For information about where to purchase propane in the Green County area or to apply for assistance towards your propane heating bill, contact Nelson at Green County Human Services Economic Support, 328-9344.
The toll-free Wisconsin hotline for heating assistance is 1-866-HEATWIS (432-8947), or visit www.homeenergyplus.wi.gov to learn where to apply for assistance.