2020-2021 Propane Contracts

June Update

I hope you all are finding reasons to get outside and enjoy yourselves. We saw some great weather this spring. It’s amazing how quickly our farmer patrons were able to get their seeds in the ground this year compared to last year. In talking to a few farmers, some of them had their planting completed this year before they even started planting last year. Great job. 

June is always a busy month for your propane division. We expect to contract another 6-7 million gallons with our customers this year during the month of June. During the fall and winter last year customers were saving up to 20 cents per gallon by contracting vs. paying the cash price on the truck. So, although the price dropped this spring, if you take your average from last winter you’ll find you did better than the average cash truck price. 

I get the question every year. Should I contract?

And every year, the answer is yes. Don’t take the risk of propane prices increasing as they normally do each winter. We offer several different types of contracts. If you’re able to prepay, that is the best option as it will get you the lowest price. If you can’t afford to prepay, a booking deposit of 10 cents per gallon is a nice option. We also offer our Easy Pay Fixed Budget, which locks in your price and we figure out a monthly payment for you. And finally , the Cap Advantage, which allows you to lock in a price and if the price falls during the contract period, your price drops as well.

Richland Center employees Shawn Teska & Addison Arndt took an LP truck out for some glamour shots.

With the pandemic this year, we’d like you to call your local energy office and work out contract questions over the phone. We have very knowledgeable staff that can assist you. As I write this, our offices are still closed to the public so I assume they will be closed when the contracts are due. Please call first.

Perhaps some of you heard the stories of other propane companies not being able to get propane last fall. We were able to keep the propane flowing to all our customers. In fact, we sold about 50 semi loads to other propane companies because we were able to secure more loads than we needed. That was no accident. It takes years to build relationships in this industry. With these relationships and the solid supply plans we develop with our suppliers every year, we have been able to avoid a situation where we were unable to supply our customers. I was talking to a farmer last fall who contracted with one of our competitors at a cheaper price but then wasn’t able to get propane for his crop dryer. I pointed out that the price is immaterial if you can’t get what you paid for. 

All propane customers should receive our annual safety mailing, either separately or with your propane contract. Please read it over with your family so you know what to do in case of an emergency. Everyone should know how to turn their propane tank off and other safety information. 

I have one reminder. The summer solstice is in June. Be sure to replace the filter on your furnace so your air conditioning system works smoothly.  

Enjoy your June. Thank you for your business.