Propane users see some relief

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

After weeks of propane shortages and high prices during the bitterly cold winter, some relief is coming to rural residents who have dealt with chilly homes and frustrations keeping their heating tanks filled.

Residential propane prices have fallen for a second-straight week, down from about $4 a gallon in late January to $3.76 a gallon Feb. 10, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday in its weekly report.

Supplies of the fuel that 5.5 million U.S. households use for heating have improved slightly due to efforts by the propane industry, the federal government and states. But the nation’s propane supply remains low, and more blasts of winter cold would quickly send prices back up, said Roy Willis, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council.