Bill would require study into propane reserve feasibility

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Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., introduced a bill that would require the energy secretary to conduct a study to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of establishing a national strategic propane reserve.

Stabenow

The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) says it secured key changes in the proposed legislation. This includes backing the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) involvement with the study; considering alternatives to a national reserve; and ensuring the propane industry is engaged in the development of the study.

NPGA began to provide technical assistance to Stabenow last year as she looked to draft similar legislation during the 117th Congress, the association says, though she never introduced the bill.

NPGA says it doesn’t have a position on the possibility of a propane reserve, which would exist separately from the strategic petroleum reserve. Neither the association nor its Governmental Affairs Committee has come out in favor or opposition to the legislation.

“NPGA appreciates the good faith and close collaboration with Sen. Stabenow as she and her team developed this legislation,” Andrew Healey, senior manager of legislative affairs at NPGA, shared with LP Gas.

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Interest in such a study, NPGA says, dates to at least 2014, following the challenging winter of 2013-14. Then-leaders in the House (Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio) and Senate (Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.) introduced separate bills – both called the Propane Supply and Security Act of 2014 – that directed a similar study on propane reserves, among other actions. The bills never progressed.

Stabenow’s bill would direct the energy secretary, who heads the Department of Energy, and the EIA to complete the study within 180 days of its enactment. In addition to determining a suitable location and size of the propane reserve, the study would assess the current state of the propane supply chain, the risks of regional supply disruptions and the infrastructure needs for a propane reserve to function properly, among other directives.

The bill, cosponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Read the full bill now.