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BPN Staff

Compiled by BPN Staff

 

  • Feature Articles

    Propane Council of Texas Offers Monetary Incentives to Public Fleets

    Public fleets in Texas can now take advantage of incentives to help lower their carbon footprint in their communities. The Propane Council of Texas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public on clean-burning, domestically produced propane, is offering funding for public fleets to switch to the greener alternative. Since 2010, the Council has offered incentives for businesses to power their vehicles with propane autogas, and has now expanded funding to public fleets including city, county, law enforcement, and school bus fleets for 2017. The Propane Council of Texas offers incentives up to $7500 per vehicle for fleets statewide for the purchase of new, dedicated original equipment manufacturer propane autogas vehicles, as well as conversions to propane. The program has a perpetual cap of $30,000...

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  • Feature Articles

    MFA Oil Company Acquires Ford Oil Company

    COLUMBIA, MO (March 3, 2017) – MFA Oil Company, a farmer-owned energy supply cooperative, announced it has acquired Ford Oil Company, an independent retailer of propane and refined fuels with offices in Hornersville and Kennett, Mo. “Acquiring Ford Oil Company and its resources expands our footprint in the Missouri Bootheel, an important agricultural market,” says Jon Ihler, MFA Oil vice president of sales and marketing. “This deal builds on our growing presence in southeast Missouri and provides us with opportunities to better serve customers in the region.” This is third acquisition MFA Oil has made in the company’s 2017 fiscal year, which began September 1, 2016. MFA Oil previously acquired Ozark County LP Gas Company, Inc., with locations in Gainesville, Mo. and Mountain Home, Ark.,...

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  • Feature Articles

    PERC Doubles Incentive For Quick-Connect Nozzle, Expands Incentive Program

    WASHINGTON (March 1, 2017) – The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is expanding its Quick-Connect Nozzle Incentive Program availability to fleets and doubling the incentive amounts for applicants. Effective immediately, private fleets and public refueling stations are eligible to apply for the incentive program, which will now provide $100 per tank-side connector and $1,000 per hose-end connector. “The quick-connect nozzles allow for an easier refueling experience for operators and significantly reduce fugitive emissions, too,” said Greg Kerr, director of research and development for PERC. “We’re excited to expand this incentive program to those who benefit most from this newer nozzle technology: fleet owners and operators.” Initially launched in November 2015, the incentive program had only been available to propane retailers. The new double incentives...

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  • Feature Articles

    Research Shows More Than 700,000 Students Ride A Propane Autogas Bus to School

    WASHINGTON (February 28, 2017) – At the start of 2017, more than 12,000 propane autogas school buses were in operation at public and private school districts across the United States, an annual increase of approximately 10 percent, according to figures from the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). Propane autogas buses now make up more than 45 percent of all non-diesel school buses used for pupil transportation. “First-time adopters of propane autogas school buses are converting entire fleets after they see for themselves the advantages propane can offer everyone involved, from the transportation directors to the bus drivers to the students riding the propane buses,” said Michael Taylor, PERC director of autogas business development. “We expect more districts to turn to propane throughout 2017 and...

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  • Feature Articles

    Georgia Propane Gas Assoc. Donates Furnace For Hands-On Learning

    BARTOW COUNTY, GA (February 24, 2017) — Move On When Ready students enrolled in Chattahoochee Technical College’s Air Conditioning Technology program at the Bartow County College and Career Academy will now have even more opportunities to work on equipment thanks to a donation from a community partner. Georgia Propane Gas Association (GPGA) donated a Lennox High Efficiency Propane Furnace to the program in an effort to support training efforts on propane gas appliances. The furnace will be used in a dynamic hands-on learning environment, where students are taught how to install, maintain and repair heating, cooling, ventilation and refrigeration systems. “Our hope for this donation is that more HVAC technicians attending your school will graduate with the knowledge of how to service and install propane...

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  • Feature Articles

    2017 Southeastern Convention & International Expo Already Outpacing Projections

    The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) is looking forward to the 70th year of the Southeastern Convention and International Propane Expo, taking place in Nashville, Tennessee, April 21- 23, 2017. Expo numbers are pacing ahead of 2016 in attendance with more than 4,000 participants expected at this year’s three-day event. The Expo is shaping up to be another record-breaking year that already includes representatives from nearly 250 exhibiting organizations. An outstanding line up of more than 40 educational opportunities, including 28 education sessions, eight Technical Workshops in traditional classrooms, and eight Fast Track sessions located on the show floor, will begin at 9:00am on Friday, April 21and continue throughout the weekend. The General Session will once again kickoff with the annual Propane Education & Research...

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  • Feature Articles

    The Delightful Sound of Shattering Glass

    Paige O’Dell was recently named a vice president of operations for AmeriGas. O’Dell has been in the propane industry for more than 26 years, and notes that there were not very many women in high-level roles several decades ago. However, she has always felt that within AmeriGas, leadership focuses on being fair and bases job decisions on work experience, not gender. “Within the last 10 years, we have really seen a shift in the number of women in leadership positions. It’s rewarding to have more diversity, and differing viewpoints brought to the table. It only makes our industry stronger and more versatile,” notes O’Dell. She has experienced many areas of the industry over the last quarter century, which has prepared her well for the shoes...

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  • Feature Articles

    South Carolina Selects Clean-Operating Propane Buses To Replace Diesel

    The first of 26 propane-powered school buses were unveiled at a February 2016 ceremony in Summerville, S.C. In an effort to be more economically and environmentally responsible, South Carolina purchased the Blue Bird Vision school buses to replace aging diesel buses. The alternative-fuel buses will be deployed to Dorchester and Berkeley counties. “While the South Carolina Department of Education is in a low-bid state, we had heard about the propane technology that Blue Bird propane buses possess from various sources,” said Mike Bullman, director of maintenance. “With aging diesel buses in our fleet, it was time to replace them and propane was the option we thought worked best financially and environmentally speaking over the long term.” The propane buses represent the largest order of alternative-fuel...

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  • Feature Articles

    Propane’s 96-Year-Old ‘Unsung Hero’

    The number on Sam Knowles’ engineering license is 8077, which his friend Steve Moore of Expo Propane (Bellflower, Calif.) believes is one of the oldest civil engineering licenses issued in California. Knowles, who will turn 96 in April, built tank structures for many propane companies in California throughout his career before retiring his license last year. “When I went to a city to get a permit, once in a while the permit person at the counter who reviews the plans would say, ‘Wow, this is one of the oldest numbers I’ve ever seen,’ which is a real tribute,” said Moore, whose company is part of Energy Distribution Partners (EDP; Chicago). Knowles performed engineering work for Expo Propane, and prior to that in the 1970s for...

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  • Feature Articles

    Blue the Dog Returns for Season 2; Production Under Way

    The propane industry’s consumer education program for 2017 will again feature Blue the Dog when it returns to airwaves in March. Advertisements developed in 2016, including the television and radio commercials that aired last year, will run through the end of May. The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is continuing work on the campaign, shooting videos and photos with Blue in Los Angeles Jan. 12 and 13. The bobtail driver’s faithful pup will once again communicate with consumers about the benefits and versatility of propane in a sequel to his successful 2016 debut. The video shoots took place at two Los Angeles homes and are highlighted by various and varied propane uses. Thirteen new videos will initially screen on PERC’s ProudlyPropane.com website and Facebook...

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