Heritage Propane charging $3.45 per gallon
Over 60 cents higher than all other local suppliers

By Scott Wright

CENTRE – The Post has learned that one local company that supplies propane for home heating in Cherokee County is charging over 60 cents more per gallon than several competitors.

“I think Heritage Propane needs to lose some business,” read an unsigned letter left at The Post by an angry customer Thursday afternoon. “Why is the price $3.45 … in Centre and $2.79 at Superior Gas in Piedmont?”

Heritage Propane District Manager John Gibbs confirmed his company's price per gallon, and told The Post he understands why some of his customers may be upset over the 66-cents-per-gallon discrepancy. But he said there is nothing he can do about the price his company charges.

“I don't like it but there's nothing I can do about it,” Gibbs said Thursday. “Our company set the price and that's what we have to charge.”

A spokeswoman for Superior Gas in Piedmont, which delivers to southern Cherokee County, confirmed that her company is currently selling propane at $2.79 per gallon.

“That's the cost per gallon for 100 gallons,” she said. “For a fill-up, we charge $2.74 per gallon.”

She said Superior Gas does not cover all of Cherokee County.

“We go up Highway 9 as far as Highway 411 and then we turn right and head over towards Georgia,” she said. “Unfortunately, we cannot cover all of Cherokee County because the houses are so spread out.”

Allgas, Inc. in Gadsden, which covers all of Cherokee County, charges $2.81 per gallon, a spokeswoman said. But she said state law prohibits customers from shopping around for lower prices, unless they own their tank.

“If it is your tank or you lease it from us, we can fill your tank,” she said. “Otherwise, we're not allowed.”

Boaz-based AmeriGas was selling propane at $2.90 per gallon as of Thursday afternoon. Their fill-up price was $2.80 per gallon.

Gibbs, who manages a district that includes all of Cherokee County and extends into parts of Calhoun, DeKalb and Etowah counties, said his company got caught with short supplies this year while hoping for propane prices to drop during the summer months.

“Our company, and most major companies, didn't go out and buy in bulk this year like we have in years past,” he said. “We were waiting for the prices to drop, like they have in the past, before we went out and bought propane to store for the winter. But it never dropped.”

Gibbs said the situation has been frustrating.

“We're caught in the middle and people are asking us for an explanation for why the price is so high, and we don't have one,” he said. “We're at the mercy of what the product costs us, plus what we have to charge to stay in business.”

Gibbs said he was unsure why other companies in the area are able to charge a much lower price per gallon, but insisted his company's product is competitively priced.

“Maybe they bought propane at a lower price back in the spring,” he said. “But some of our competitors are charging $3.89 to $3.99 a gallon so we're not the highest.”

Joy Patterson, spokeswoman for Alabama Attorney General Troy King, told The Post the state's anti-price-gouging laws only go into effect during times of declared emergencies and do not apply.

On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Board told The Post her agency only deals with safety issues.