LP/Gas articles from February 2005

LP/Gas archives from February 2005

Measuring success.(View Point)(propane retailers sales)(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... Overall, 2004 appears to have been a tough year for propane retailers who made it into this year's LP Gas Top 50 ranking. Twenty-one of the 50 largest retailers reported a drop in sales, while just 40 percent saw sales growth. The remaining...

Technology survey.(In The Know)(propane marketers )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... We asked 500 retail propane marketers what forms of technology they use and how they use it. Here are the results. In The Know is presented as a partnership between LP Gas Magazine and Propane Resources. The Questions/Results: ...

Propane master limited partnership comparison.(LP/Gas Stock Index)(Illustration)
February 1, 2005... Propane Master Limited Partnership Comparison Company Symbol Quarter Price Distribution Yield Ended (1/11/05) AmeriGas APU Sep $29.44 $2.20 ...

Propane MLP price history.(LP/Gas Stock Index)
February 1, 2005... Historic price index Propane stock price history calculated by averaging unweighted prices for AmeriGas, Ferrellgas, Heritage, Inergy, Star Gas and Suburban master limited partnerships. Sources: Public information and A.G. Edwards & Sons,...

Heating degree days by state.(Weather Watch)
February 1, 2005... Heating degree days by state State December Deviation Last 12 Deviation from norm months from norm Alabama 621 -30 2603 -251 Alaska ...

Upcoming events.(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... * March 2 Mid-Atlantic Propane Gas Association winter legislative meeting at Harry Browne's restaurant in Annapolis, MD. For details, contact Tom Osina at wvpga@aol.com or 703-530-9772. * March 7-8 New York Propane Gas Association annual...

A case for combustible gas detectors.(Safety First)
February 1, 2005... If you are like me, you want to avoid accidents and promote safety. It is important to make this distinction, because I am calling for something a bit radical that requires some help from all safety leaders. I'd like to see fire code and...

Another habit for effective leaders.(Business Matters)
February 1, 2005... Truly great organizations inspire employees to maximize their talent, creativity and enthusiasm. I wrote a series of columns in 2004 about how to become a more effective propane operator. The ideas I presented were the creation of Stephen...

Congress trimming domestic spending.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2005... Federal spending on some energy programs will go down this year, with Congress trimming domestic spending. Final figures are slightly below earlier numbers, due to a 0.8 percent across-the-board budget cut in the omnibus appropriations bill....

Decrease in random drug testing.(Briefly speaking: notes from Capitol Hill)
February 1, 2005... The Research & Special Programs Administration stated that this year pipeline operators will have to test only 25 percent of employees randomly for drugs. Tests show less than 1 percent of employees use drugs and don't justify a higher test...

HAZMAT regulations finalized.(Briefly speaking: notes from Capitol Hill)(Research and Special Programs Administration)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... RSPA issued final rules harmonizing hazmat regulations with United Nations recommendations concerning shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, etc., that will cover international transit. Details: Dec. 20 Federal Register.

Delay in hazardous materials rules.(Briefly speaking: notes from Capitol Hill)
February 1, 2005... RSPA announced the second delay in the effective date of its new rules regarding the applicability of the hazardous materials regulations to loading, unloading and storage. They won't take effect until June 1 while RSPA continues to examine...

LP Gas consumption to rise.(Briefly speaking: notes from Capitol Hill)
February 1, 2005... Consumption of LPG will rise an average of 0.9 percent a year over the next 20 years, predicts EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2005. The report noted a decline in consumption in 2003, but forecasts a rebound by 2010. EIA sees only a 0.5 percent...

Watts up? Propane connecting with standby systems and new remote power applications.
February 1, 2005... From the onslaught of successive hurricanes in Florida to the debilitating system overload in California and the spectacular failure of the nation's supposedly fail-safe power line grid, frequent electrical power outages are plugging Americans...

Safety first: keeping your drivers safe from violence is priority number one.
February 1, 2005... After killing his wife in 1995, a distraught man drove away and attempted to commit suicide by ramming his vehicle into a propane delivery truck. The man received only minor cuts and bruises, but the propane truck driver received major injuries...

Truckers seek dismissal of fingerprint program.(Washington, D.C.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The American Trucking Association is asking the federal Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration to drop its plan for a state-based program that would fingerprint drivers of hazardous materials. Instead, the...

California opens nine 24-hour propane refueling sites.(Sacramento, California)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Drivers of propane-fueled vehicles have nine new places to refuel in California with the recent installation of 24-hour, self-serve propane refueling dispensers throughout the state. The stations were installed by the California division of...

NPGA seeks clarification, offers support for HOS requirements.(Washington, D.C.)(National Propane Gas Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The National Propane Gas Association is asking the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to clarify its list of required documentation that would support a driver's and company's compliance with hours of...

Label warns consumers to not store cylinders indoors.(Hopewell Township, New Jersey)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... New Jersey marketers of liquefied petroleum gas are being directed to display a label on all propane-filled cylinders that warns consumers not to store cylinders indoors. The safety initiative is being promoted through the state's...

Propane costs rise, but less than expected.(Washington, D.C.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Propane costs will jump 22 percent this winter for the average Midwest residential customer--but that bill will be slightly lower than predicted by the Energy Information Administration. Earlier this winter, the EIA had projected those home...

Educational blitz planned for Congress, administration.(Washington, D.C.)
February 1, 2005... The Propane Education & Research Council and National Propane Gas Association are planning the first ever two-day blitz in the nation's capital to alert federal policy makers to the importance of propane in the U.S. economy. Organizers...

Liberty Propane acquires two propane retail operations.(Overland Park, Kansas)
February 1, 2005... Liberty Propane is expanding in the Northeast and Southwest with the acquisitions of Tony Yates Welding and Gas Service on Nantucket Island, Mass., and SunEnergy Propane in Phoenix, Ariz. Yates Gas was established in 1971 by Yates to serve...

Paraco Gas buys New York propane operations.(Purchase, New York)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Paraco Gas Corp. will add about 1,500 residential and commercial customers with the acquisition of the propane operations of Peoples Gas in Hoosick Falls, N.Y. The business, which was owned and operated since its inception by the LaPorte...

Griffith Energy buys New York competitor Gibbs Gas.(Rochester, New York)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Griffith Energy, one of New York's largest combined marketers of propane, heating oils and power fuels, has acquired Gibbs Gas Service, a propane marketer in Livonia, N.Y. Based in Rochester, Griffith Energy has 28 offices throughout the...

Retailers rankings: profiles of the largest propane retail marketers in the United States.(Top 50)
February 1, 2005... 1 AmeriGas Partners P.O. Box 965 Valley Forge, PA 19482 Phone: 610-337-7000 * Fax: 610-992-3253 Web site: www.amerigas.com Founded: 1959 Owners: Publicly held Outlets: 650 States: 46 Customers:...

Propane days: our time in Washington.(Let's Talk)
February 1, 2005... For a $35 billion industry that has been in existence for almost 100 years, the upcoming 2005 Propane Days in Washington, D.C. will be a first. NPGA has held Washington "fly-ins" in years past to help stop legislation that would have hurt...

Gas pains.(Let's Talk)
February 1, 2005... "YES, YOU'RE GETTING BIGGER, JOE... BUT, IT'S NOT WHAT THEY HAD IN MIND." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]