The Polar Pig Cometh
Some of the coldest weather of the season is upon us. For most of us, this is not our first rodeo.
Please plan ahead and place new orders before noon (if possible) and keep working off the top of your tanks.
If you need something extra, please let us know.
Arctic air has dropped into the Midwest, the South, and the Northeast. Dangerously cold weather should reinforce the critical importance for state legislators to support a diversified basket of low-carbon and clean-energy sources for heating, such as propane.
Climate Acts & Clean Heat Standards.
There’s a scene in the movie No Country for Old Men where Sheriff Ed Bell reflects on his family (three generations of lawmen) and the ways of old-timers before ruminating over something tragic that happened, saying: “I don’t know what to make of that. I surely don’t.”
Some things in life are imponderable.
Take the Climate Act and Gas Applicance & Infrastructure ban in New York, for example. Or the Clean Heat Standard (CHS) in both Massachusetts and Vermont. These pieces of legislation are hard to understand on many levels. But the templates are being built, laws are being passed, and something similar could be coming your way.
Rational Level.
The CLCPA (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act) and CHS are difficult to make sense of rationally because New York and Massachusetts have been lowering their CO2 emissions by 45% and 43% and are already moving in the right direction.
Vermont’s share of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is the lowest of any state. And it’s been that way for over 50 years!
Add China, India, and the rest of the world into the CO2 mix and Vermont’s share of global emissions becomes statistically insignificant. The percentage is so small that it’s “difficult to estimate or assess” which is the definition of the word “imponderable.”
So, why is it needed?
Every legislator in every state proposing some type of climate-change initiative needs to ask themselves: “Is total electrification absolutely necessary in my state?”
In Court or at the Ballot Box.
Compare the states listed in the energy-related carbon dioxide emissions chart below versus the total of all U.S. states (up 15%). It will surprise you!
You’ll see that Massachusetts (down 43%), New York (down 45%), New Jersey (down 31%), Pennsylvania (down 30%), and the other Northeast states are really not the CO2 problem anyway.
Nevertheless, it seems inevitable that many of these states with proposed gas bans or carbon taxes will need to be settled in court or at the ballot box.
The Most Punitive Carbon-Tax is U.S. History.
In Vermont’s case, legislators may be on the precipice of approving the most punitive carbon-tax in U.S. history.
Estimates for the proposed new tax are in the $.70 per gallon range which would punish homeowners for simply choosing to heat their homes with propane instead of electricity. It’s hard to imagine such a tax policy not contributing to social inequity.
Weekly Inventory Numbers
U.S. propane inventories showed a draw of 2.75 mmbbls. for the week ending January 12, 2024, slightly less than industry expectations. This brings national inventory levels to 76.31 mmbbls., about .5 percent lower than last year and 13 percent above the 5-year average.
PADD 1 (East Coast) inventories showed a build of .67 mmbbls. They stand at 8.24 mmbbls. about 17 percent ahead of last year.
PADD 2 (Midwest/Conway) inventories had a draw of .78 mmbbls. They stand at 20.32 mmbbls., nearly 9 percent lower than last year.
PADD 3 (Gulf Coast/Belvieu) inventories recorded a draw of 2.47 mmbbls. They stand at 42.66 mmbbls. about 3 percent lower than last year.
The Skinny
There’s another scene in the movie No Country for Old Men where Sheriff Bell’s father says, “You can’t stop what’s coming.”
The polar pig cometh. So bundle up, order early, and keep working off the top of your tanks. If you need something extra please let us know.
Ray Energy’s commitment to reliable supply and innovative energy technologies that improve the quality of life is a 120-year-old family tradition. So, we’ll be there for you. In fact, we’d probably be endorsed by the Polar Pig if there were such a thing. After all, we started in the ice business!
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