A Lot of Shakin’ on Shakedown Street
Is AmeriGas pro pain?
As Forrest Gump might say, buying propane from AmeriGas is like opening up a box of chocolates. You never know which price you’re going to get.
A Sheet investigation into AmeriGas pricing for Mammoth commercial customers has shown that the price for propane varies wildly and can change without notice.
Just ask Dan O’Connell of Mammoth Rock ‘n Bowl.
From January 2015 to January 2016, AmeriGas more than doubled his propane rate, from approx. $1.56/gallon to $3.65/gallon.
During the same time period, the Mont Belvieu, TX spot propane price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (www.eia.gov), dropped by approximately 26 percent, from $0.465 per gallon to $0.343 per gallon.
Initially, O’Connell didn’t notice the price increase because the big hike AmeriGas foisted on him occurred during the June, 2015 billing cycle, when his propane rate was doubled from the $1.32/gallon charged that May to $2.64/gallon.
The total bill, however, only climbed from $1,201 to $1,655 because the Rock ‘n Bowl, like most customers, uses less propane during the summer months.
As winter came along, that was when the price hike became impossible to ignore. The Rock ‘n Bowl was billed $3,595 for October, $6,377 for November and a staggering $9,070 for December.
O’Connell then complained and AmeriGas ultimately issued a substantial refund.
