JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Attorney General Chris Koster announced an investigation into the cause of a drastic increase in the price of propane across the state after urging from Republican lawmakers.
In the last two weeks, propane prices in the state have increased from approximately $1.70 per gallon to more than $5.00 per gallon. The increase came during yet another week of record-low temperatures throughout the state thanks in large part to the “polar vortex.”
Rep. Jay Houghton, R-Martinsburg and Sen. Mike Parson, R-Polk County, called on Koster to investigate the matter in official letters. Houghton says he hopes Koster’s investigation will move quickly, because customers deserve refunds and relief.
“Obviously this is something I’d like to see move fast, we have small businesses and farmers and rural families that rely on propane for heat,” Houghton said. “They are under the gun here, and one way or another they need some kind of relief.”
The Missouri Propane Gas Association sent a letter to the Missouri General Assembly supporting Koster’s investigation, as well as supporting voluntary limits on exports and binding commitments on defined capacities.
Steve Ahrens, Executive Director of MPGA, says that the increases are the result of several unpredictable factors. In the upper Midwest, corn harvests were wetter than usual, requiring a certain level of heat to remove moisture before it could be sold.
“That harvest required about 5 times more propane than normal,” Ahrens said. “And when you add that to these new export agreements just reached this year, and then you put that against a very cold winter and this polar vortex, and suddenly you have a much higher demand looking at a dwindling supply.”
Koster’s investigation will likely be folded into a larger investigation currently taking place within the National Association of Attorneys General. Ahrens says that while some are concerned that the higher prices are the results of price gouging, he disagrees.
“I would say that people doing commodity trading who are doing trades at much higher prices on propane, I think that’s probably opportunistic, but whether that is totally illegal is something else,” Ahrens said. “The trading of scares resources in times of emergency is always something to be watched closely. But I also think you’ll find there is no one bad guy in all of this. It is just a cascade of unintended consequences. It may not be the most satisfying thing, but that’s where we are.”
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
