Propane Prices Continue Drop, But Remain Much Higher Than In Any Other Year

• Logan Layden
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  Logan Layden is a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma. He is a native of McAlester, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009. Logan spent three years as a state capitol reporter and local host of All Things Considered for NPR member station KGOU in Norman and six years as a reporter with StateImpact from 2011 to 2017. Most recently, he was news director for McAlester Radio before returning to public radio in 2020.

After reaching a national average of just over $4 per gallon, and around $5 in some spots in the midwest, propane prices are falling, mainly because of lighter demand amid warming temperatures.

Still, though, the current average of $3.48 per gallon is more than a dollar higher than the price this time last year.

StateImpact has reported on the hardship the high prices are causing for the 400,000 or so Oklahomans who rely on propane to heat their homes and cook their food, and on the reasons behind the shortage amid plenty, including the cold weather, a wet fall corn crop, and an increase in propane exports.

And on Friday, reporter Logan Layden went on OETA’s Oklahoma News Report to discuss the issue. (See the above video)

This winter has seen propane prices skyrocket to all-time highs. Experts say the price should continue to fall until September or October, before rising again when colder weather returns.

However, Kelly Van Hull, an energy analyst for Houston-based RBN Energy, says she doesn’t expect prices to explode again, like they did this winter.

“No, this is a complete anomaly,” Van Hull says. “Temperatures in the midwest hadn’t been there in decades, and the same thing with the crop drying season. Both of those are extreme anomalies, and the likelihood of that getting repeated is very, very small.”