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A CLARIFICATION AND OUR THANKS
The angry response to our latest newsletter calls for some clarification. As all of you know, propane is the scarcest it has ever been due to constricted supply and unprecedented demand. The prices that we quote when you call for a fill are set by the suppliers, who trade propane as a commodity. When we go to the pipeline terminal to pick up supply, we have to pay whatever the price is for that day, if there is any supply available at all. Only propane purchased in advance will be available at a lower price from the terminal, and only in restricted quantity. Thrifty is one of the propane dealers who purchased propane in advance, but we cannot purchase all of it in advance. Much of the propane we purchase, we have to purchase at the daily rate. And that daily rate is set at the Chicago Board of Trade and at Conway, Kansas, by those who produce the propane.
So much propane is being exported that the shale oil boom has turned into a propane shortage.Propane is piped away from home owners who depend on it for heat to huge marine terminals where it loaded on tanker ships that take it around the world.
As we said in the last newsletter, the supply and price situation is so serious that the governors of the states affected by this shortage have called on the White House to intervene. The depth of the crisis was underlined by the fact that governors from both political parties joined in a united call for action.
We at Thrifty Propane appreciate your patience in the face of this crisis that has come to each of our doors. We recognize that the tone of the last newsletter was harsh, and we recognize that each of you is struggling with both short supply and extraordinarily high prices. We have never charged so much for propane: yet even at that price, we barely cover the costs of getting the propane from the terminal to your home.
Thrifty will continue to work around the clock to respond to this crisis. All of you have shown remarkable resilience and patience in the face of both cold and cost.
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