What a difference a year makes. Last winter there was a critical shortage of propane, a heating fuel used by many rural residents. If you could get the fuel at all, it was very costly.
A spokesperson for the Wisconsin State Energy Office, Stephanie Marquis says things are much different this year...
".....we have plenty of propane at the major terminals. When we talk to our retailers they say they're keeping up with their customers(needs). Right now the price of propane was about $1.79 a gallon and that's even lower than they were last fall....."
Last year at this time the price was tickling $4.00 a gallon. Marquis says there's a new high-efficiency propane terminal in Hixton which has helped, along with several other measures the state has adopted.
But the largest factor appears to be the weather, which overall has been milder than one year ago.
