The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has published its 2017 budget plan for public comment. The plan includes the probable costs of all programs, projects, and contracts as well as a recommended assessment rate sufficient to cover costs. After public review and comment, PERC must submit the spending plan to the secretary of energy and to Congress. The blueprint is available for viewing at propanecouncil.org/uploadedFiles/2017_Budget_for_Public_Comment.
pdf.

Comments are due Sept. 15, and must be received by 5 p.m. EDT to be considered. By mail, send comments to the Propane Education & Research Council, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1075, Washington, D.C. 20035; by fax to 202/452-9054; or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Meeting in Napa, Calif. in July, PERC raised its assessment rate to 0.45 cents per gallon effective Nov. 1, 2016. The additional revenue from the hike is expected to generate about $3 million for programs in 2017 and will help fund the consumer education campaign, commercialization projects, and the Partnership With States program. The rate had been at 0.4 cents per gallon since 2010, when the council lowered it from 0.5 cents after restrictions were placed on its activities.

“We carried some revenue from last year into 2016 to help cover the cost of the national consumer education campaign while adequately funding our commercialization projects and Partnership With States, and we know we won’t have that option in 2017,” said PERC president and CEO Roy Willis. “We see raising the assessment by half of a tenth of a cent as a sensible, prudent step. It leaves virtually all of our programs with less funding than they had in
2016 but still allows us to deliver value for the industry.”