Convincing the new generation of propane marketers to get involved with the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA); increasing overall NPGA and PropanePAC membership; and preventing what he called “some degree of demand destruction” caused by subsidized natural gas expansion are three main goals for new NPGA Chair Charlie Ory.
CharlieOry

Sworn in during the association’s board meeting June 8 ahead of Propane Days in Washington, D.C., Ory spoke to attendees about those goals for the next year. On persuading younger members to join the NPGA board and committees, he told BPN in an interview following Propane Days, “I think it’s really important we get some new blood in the industry, new ideas, and face the next 100 years with some optimism.”

The new NPGA chair, who is president of Aero Propane (Apache Junction, Ariz.), began his talk by mentioning some of NPGA’s accomplishments over the past two years under its two previous chairs, David Lugar and Gary France. Ory said France’s role as a small marketer from Wisconsin helped the industry gain more attention from Midwestern governors during the supply and infrastructure problems of winter 2013-2014, and Lugar was at the helm as Congress enacted the Propane Education and Research Enhancement Act, which resulted in the lifting of the public education restriction on the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). The PERC episode was a strong illustration of the importance of NPGA’s work for the industry, Ory noted.

“Without NPGA, it would have been tough for him to have the correct information and the professional presentation to get some things done and put us in a much better light than we would have been.”

He continued his presentation by expressing the need for the younger generation to get more involved with NPGA. Although he is pleased that the association’s Benchmarking Council has seen so much growth, he is concerned that more young people are involved in that group than with NPGA itself. He emphasized that the Benchmarking Council would not exist without NPGA. As chair, he plans to attend at least one Benchmarking Council meeting and ask members to get more involved with NPGA so they can tell the association what issues are important to them.

“I’m going to invite them to join governmental affairs, TS&S [Technology, Standards & Safety], Conventions, or the Member Services committee, whatever interests them, in order to give us a broader cross-section of the industry,” said Ory, who is a long-time member of the TS&S Committee. “NPGA offers everybody a broad forum to introduce what they think is important and what we should think is important, and move their agenda forward.” He added that the networking and knowledge he receives as a member of TS&S “far outweighs any cost” of membership.

After talking about some of his goals as chair, he went on to address some “demand destruction” challenges the propane industry faces. First on his list is what he calls “subsidized natural gas expansion.” Cheap natural gas commodity prices have resulted in legislation to encourage natural gas expansion at the expense of the propane industry.

He explained that the commodity price of natural gas is around $3 per MMBtu. But adding another $5 to $10 is necessary to get that gas to customers’ homes, which changes the equation dramatically.

“If state legislators understood this, I don’t think they would be so gung-ho about pushing subsidized expansion,” Ory commented.

He noted that the NPGA board authorized $500,000 for the association to assist states in fighting legislation to carry out what he calls “uneconomic expansion” of natural gas pipelines. NPGA director of state affairs Lesley Garland is leading the effort to track natural gas bills in all 50 states.

“If it’s uneconomic expansion, we’re going to do our best to assist the states in fighting that,” he stressed. Hiring Garland was the first phase of NPGA’s program, and getting technology in place to track activity of the state legislatures is the second. As part of the program, the NPGA executive committee authorized $24,000 to help fight House Bill 4303, a natural gas expansion bill in Michigan.

“And we are pleased that the state reported they think they’re gaining traction and that there is a good chance the bill will be defeated. But we know it’s going to come back and come back.”

In addition to being encouraged by efforts to slow natural gas expansion, he is excited about other programs such as the Congressional Propane Caucus, which will help the propane industry keep legislators up to date on important issues. He felt the recent Propane Days event was productive for the propane industry, and his Arizona group received a warm reception from legislators and staff members about joining the caucus. Twenty-two members of Congress were part of the caucus as of mid-June, and Ory hopes to see the caucus grow larger than the natural gas caucus.

“Hopefully I’m not being overly optimistic, but I think we’ll be close to 100 members by the time the next Congress convenes, and that just gives us a wonderful place to start.”

He looks forward to visiting propane marketers in various states in his travels as NPGA chair.

“You don’t talk to a single past chairman [without hearing] that the hospitality is exceptional, and the opportunity to meet members across the U.S. is pretty great.” —Daryl Lubinsky