Propane industry leaders organize aid for Ukraine

(Editor’s note: This article was updated on Jan. 6 with new information and additional comments.)

Propane industry leaders are taking action to help Ukrainians in need of emergency power and heating supplies.

This QR code, shared by Robin Parsons, links to Liberty Ukraine, where donated funds will be used for humanitarian aid, medical supplies, protective gear and rehabilitation therapy, according to the website.

According to information shared by the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), the war with Russia has led to the destruction of Ukraine’s heating, power and water infrastructure. Russian missile strikes in late November caused power outages across the country and left 10 million people in the dark, multiple media sources report. Freezing temperatures have only compounded the challenges for the population of over 40 million.

“The situation is really desperate, and I am all too aware of this because my mother and father-in-law are there,” Robin Parsons, president of Parafour Innovations, shares with LP Gas.

Parsons, along with Tom Ortiz, NPGA’s new director of codes and standards, is working to arrange donations of propane cylinders, generators, heaters and other equipment to ship for civilian aid.

The country needs about 25,000 generators and 300,000 portable indoor heating units, NPGA reports. Propane-fueled generators should support an output voltage of 220 AC.

Ortiz learned about Ukraine’s need for energy supplies through his connections to the British consulate general in Houston. He shared the information in NPGA’s newsletter and says he was contacted before Christmas by the nonprofit BNI Foundation.

“They have been on the ground in Poland trying to move equipment across the border, and they are finding it extremely difficult,” Ortiz reports about BNI. “I told them that the Ukrainian diplomatic staff in Houston has a warehouse, and they can use diplomatic flights to seamlessly move cargo from the U.S. directly into Ukraine.”

In addition, Ortiz says, Rotary International, which has seven chapters in Ukraine, is serving as a primary transport service to move the donated equipment from large centers such as Kiev to smaller towns that aren’t receiving as much humanitarian aid.

“I would encourage people to reach out to the Ukraine consulate [in Houston] and BNI Foundation,” Ortiz says. “I know they are accepting donations from the propane industry. They are very focused on propane, and they want to be able to get that equipment to Ukraine.”

When the war ends, Parsons says, he will also look to arrange for donations of equipment and technical expertise to help the country rebuild.

Parsons shares a link (and QR code) to Liberty Ukraine, where donated funds will be used for humanitarian aid, medical supplies, protective gear and rehabilitation therapy, according to the website. The foundation relies on a network of volunteers in the U.S. and Europe.

For questions about equipment donations or to get involved, Ortiz says to contact him at 202-466-7200/tortiz@npga.org; Robert Gorecki of BNI at 704-248-4800/rob@bni.com; or Andrii Protsan, assistant to the consul general of Ukraine, at 281-822-0432/andrii.protsan@mfa.gov.ua.