Daily Post reader Jack Dyer sent us a letter yesterday.
We are in search of a propane company that is willing to do whatever it takes to supply its customers with propane, even if it means working on the weekend or holidays.
Bob’s LP Gas has recently been sued by the State of New Mexico for failure to meet its obligations. Also I am aware of my friends who have used Selphs in the past with excellent service. New owner AAA has failed miserably to meet the high standard provided by Darren and staff. AAA, lying and letting people run out over New Years doesn’t cut it.
So please encourage a new propane company to start up service in Pagosa… and consult with Darren about a business model.
Jack Dyer
I first heard about this potentially disastrous situation last week in an article by reporter Randi Pierce, in the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN. Ms. Pierce wrote, in part:
Residents across Archuleta County and northern New Mexico are experiencing difficulties obtaining propane gas to heat their houses and water, among other uses.
Numerous residents have reported their troubles with the vari- ous propane services in town to The SUN, while others have taken to social media to make others in the community aware or called local law enforcement.
New Mexico’s attorney general is taking legal action against one local propane provider.
On Dec. 23, “following his investigation and consumer advisory on increased cost and unavailability of propane gas,” New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas filed a lawsuit against Bob’s LP Gas, Inc. for “failure to provide the propane gas it had contracted to deliver to vulnerable Northern New Mexicans as the winter weather sets in,” a press release explains…
“It is unconscionable that a company is able to leave hundreds of New Mexicans without access to safe heat when they need it the most,” said Balderas via the press release. “This issue is a matter of life and death.”
Apparently, the Colorado Attorney General, Phil Weiser, has also taken action to address the situation. From a press release sent out by the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday:
A court order by Chief Judge Jeffrey Wilson of the Sixth Judicial District of Colorado was issued earlier today authorizing “any and all propane suppliers to fill any Bob’s LP Gas, Inc. customer tanks that are below 50% capacity, for a period of thirty (30) days.”
The court order was the result of a suit filed by Colorado Attorney General Philip J. Weiser v. BOB’S LP GAS, INC. and ROBERT SIVERS, defendants, following multiple customers experiencing propane delivery interruptions in Archuleta County, with some customers running out of propane.
The suit followed a declaration of a local disaster issued for Archuleta County by County Manager Derek Woodman on Friday.
Bob’s LP propane customers experiencing a propane shortage can call any propane provider to fill their tank as a result of this action.
The County Manager’s ‘local disaster declaration’ was issued according to Colorado Revised Statutes 24-33.5-709, which states in part, “A local disaster may be declared only by the principal executive officer of a political subdivision. It shall not be continued or renewed for a period in excess of seven days except by or with the consent of the governing board of the political subdivision. Any order or proclamation declaring, continuing, or terminating a local disaster emergency shall be given prompt and general publicity and shall be filed promptly with the county clerk and recorder, city clerk, or other authorized record-keeping agency and with the office of emergency management…”
You can download the declaration here.
The effect of a declaration of a ‘local disaster emergency’ is to activate the response and recovery aspects of any and all applicable local and inter-jurisdictional disaster emergency plans and to authorize the furnishing of aid and assistance under such plans.
Archuleta County has at least four officially-approved emergency plans. You can download them below.
- 2018 Emergency Operations Plan
- 2018 Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan
- 2017 Emergency Alert & Notification Plan
- 2017 Winter Storm Plan
Unfortunately, none of these plans seem to address this particular emergency — a propane supplier who, for whatever reason, has ceased delivering propane to its customers. The only plan that mentions propane deliveries, the ‘2017 Winter Storm Plan’, assumes that Archuleta County will have three propane companies attempting to make deliveries. But two of our local suppliers, Selph’s Propane and AAA Propane, were recently purchased by Kansas City-based Ferrellgas, and reportedly, all customers were being serviced out of the Selph’s location on Highway 160.
Bob’s LP Gas, meanwhile, appears to be unresponsive, following Pagosa’s heaviest storm of the winter, so far.
Last week, Archuleta County set up an emergency call center to report propane issues. Folks who were unable to arrange deliveries were encouraged to contact the call center, which would then be able to document the situation and possibly obtain assistance from the state government. Now that Selph’s Propane is legally allowed to deliver to Bob’s LP customers — as a result of Judge Wilson’s Sunday ruling — the County’s emergency call center will no longer be accepting customer complaints, according to the Sunday press release.
Whether a single propane company can successfully service the entire community remains to be seen.
Most homes and business within the Town of Pagosa Springs are served by piped natural gas, supplied by Black Hills Energy. Propane customers tend to be located outside the core area, in the more rural neighborhoods. Which, of course, only adds to the delivery difficulties.