A state of emergency has been declared in New Jersey due to a propane shortage, which could leave thousands of homes without heat during cold December nights. The declaration will take effect at 9 a.m. Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy said. On Thursday, he signed an executive order to bring more deliveries to New Jersey to counter the propane shortage. According to Murphy, the executive will stay in effect until the shortage is over. There's no clear timeline for when that will happen.
Around 186,000 New Jersey residents rely on propane to heat their homes. Temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s each night this week. It's still fall; the first day of winter is Dec. 21, and colder weather is likely on the way.
there was a power outage on Nov. 21 at a "major gas refinery and industrial complex" in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Since then, the plant has only been open intermittently. That's led to an increase in wait times for propane delivery trucks that come to New Jersey.
Under federal law, propane trucks are only allowed to operate 11 hours each day. Anybody know why that is? Longer wait times mean that more of those hours are spent waiting instead of delivering propane.
The emergency declaration allows them to operate 14 hours a day - that is, if the Federal Government lets them. Murphy's not exactly loved in DC...
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Would be interesting to see how many times government intervention in the marketplace contributed to the problem. 95-100% maybe?
ReplyDeleteOversized/overweight loads are restricted to traveling only during daylight hours. Could be something similar for hazardous materials.
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