Sheldon, Iowa — With the chilly overnight lows we’ve seen over the past several days, many northwest Iowans have turned on their furnaces to take the chill off for the first time this season.
For those who heat their homes with propane, there’s encouraging news, according to Harold Hommes, a fuels analyst at the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
A normal demand is anticipated from farmers as there are no reports of unusually wet grain that would require excessive drying. It’s a far cry from the situation two years ago.
In January of 2014, Iowa hit a record high for propane at just over five dollars a gallon, while prices now are about one-fifth that. In talking with the state climatologist, Hommes says it doesn’t appear the winter ahead in Iowa will have an atypical impact on the usage and supply of propane.
At last report, propane prices in Iowa were averaging a dollar-three a gallon ($1.03), which is about a nickel higher than a year ago.
