Local company advises on propane deliveries during cold
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Many rural areas rely on propane for heat, hot water and cooking. Following a story about a customer feeling like they were left out in the cold on Tuesday, NEWS10 spoke to a local gas delivery company about best practices to avoid delivery delays.
With some Ferrellgas customers experiencing delivery delays, we caught up with John Bove, the co-owner at G.A. Bove Fuels.
“You gotta have different supply points. You gotta have enough guys. You gotta have enough trucks. We’ve had some issues too. A couple of our propane trucks have been down, but we anticipate that. I try to anticipate problems we’re gonna have. It’s a very on demand kind of business,” said Bove.
He wants to remind people that not all companies are experiencing significant delivery delays right now.
“This time of year we are three or four days out, but we do have emergency service. A lot of full [service] companies do. We have sent the trucks out at night before. We have called a few guys in super early in the morning to take care of them. We don’t let anybody go without propane. We get it done that day,” said Bove.
He recommends looking into local, full service companies because they don’t have the same issues as others. He said they prioritize having multiple sources of gas.
“We do have availability at seven different outlets. We pay a little more in the summer, but it ensures us that we have availability in the winter,” said Bove.
He said delivery companies are operating 7 days a week this time of year. He recommends signing up for automatic delivery. And if you’re not signed up for automatic delivery, call for a new delivery when you’re around 20-30 percent full to give them enough time to get it on a route, before you run out.
Another best practice? Clear a path to your oil vents, making sure your propane storage tanks are visible to delivery drivers.
“So if we all sort of do our part and keep things moving, we can get to everybody in a timely fashion,” said Bove.
With the cold weather this week, he warns things could get tighter next week.