'Hobbling really fast on crutches': Experts say N.J. state of emergency issued to help speed up propane deliveries
New Jersey’s governor declared a state of emergency, citing a shortage of propane. As temperatures drop, officials are working to make sure no one sees an interruption in getting a propane tank filled. But experts say there’s currently no cause for panic.
Yamil Quintana manages Blue Flame, a propane company serving several areas from southern New Jersey all the way to eastern Pennsylvania.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls since the governor put that out there,” he said.
A state of emergency in New Jersey has propane companies working hard — even harder than typically this time of year.
“Especially always leading into the holiday,” Quintana said.
But the propane shortage resulting in an executive order is more of a logistical puzzle, according to Eric DeGesero, a spokesman for New Jersey Propane Gas Association.
“It’s not a shortage of fuel, it’s a shortage of fuel at a major distribution facility that’s causing us to need to kind of go further afield and wait longer to get the fuel that there is,” DeGesero said.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, propane inventories are well stocked across the country.
But a major distributor in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, suffered an incident involving an electric transformer, officials say. That was three weeks ago. It’s back up and running intermittently, but it is backed up — all at a time when temps are dropping and folks need that propane the most.
“We normally are sprinting at this time of the year,” DeGesero said. “We’re hobbling really fast on crutches.”
DeGesero says that’s the whole reason for the governor’s executive order: to allow propane trucks an additional three hours on the road to make up for lost time, to get propane delivered everywhere that needs it as soon as possible.
Pennsylvania is not under a state of emergency at this time, but PennDOT has expanded the daily hours propane shipments are allowed to be trucked in order to keep the supply flowing.
Blue Flame gets its propane from Marcus Hook.
“We’re working a little extra hours in the office,” Quintana said.
But like other companies, the disruption in service has its workers going the distance for its customers.
“Even if we have to go down to Baltimore to get propane,” Quintana said, “we make sure that we have enough propane to keep people’s homes heated and keep kitchens running.”
DeGesero says there’s no need to panic, and urges folks not to run out and buy extra propane; he says to only get it if and when you need it.
“Operate as you were operating, you know, 24 hours ago when there was none of this news surrounding the distribution facilities’ challenges,” he said.