Customers upset with propane prices

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma propane dealers say customers are upset with the sharply rising price of the fuel used for heating.

The price jumped from about $2 per gallon in early December to nearly $5 per gallon in late January. Industry officials say that’s due to a combination of low supplies, increased demand due to the extremely cold winter and a wet harvest season when a large amount of the gas was used to dry corn crops.

American Propane owner Herb Hampton in Oklahoma City told the Oklahoman that he’s tried to explain that his hands are tied because benchmark prices are set in Texas and Kansas. And Liberty Propane Company owner Paul Laney in Tahlequah said several of his customers let their tanks run dry and replaced them with space heaters.