AUBURN (NEWS CENTER Maine) — Higher temperatures, expected this weekend, will mean more time for fuel dealers to catch up on the deliveries that have strained the system during the prolonged cold of the past month.
It's also helping them recover from a temporary shortage of propane in part of Maine, which had state energy officials worried.
The problem — part of it, at least — was caused by weather. Sudden rain and melting snow caused flooding in Quebec, which washed out a railroad bridge near Sherbrooke, according to the Governor's Energy Office. Loss of the bridge cut off an important rail line that brings propane to Maine's largest propane terminal in Auburn.
According to Allen Dorr of Dead River Company, it took several days to re-route the rail carloads of propane they depend on. Many independent dealers also fill up trucks at the Dead River terminal or another terminal nearby.
Because of the temporary drop in deliveries, many of those dealers were put on reduced gas allocations, so there would be enough propane to go around.
At the same time, ship deliveries of gas in Newington, New Hampshire, had been delayed for several weeks, so there was worry southern Maine might not have enough propane to meet the high demand.
► PHOTOS: Dead River rail terminal in Auburn
As of Friday, however, the situation improved. Rail cars began arriving at Auburn again. Dead River reported a gas ship had arrived at Newington, with a second ship expected next week.
"There's a lot of rail out there," said Jamie Py of the Maine Energy Marketers Association. "Ships have come in so it looks like it’s really eased up."
Dorr also said the situation was getting better.
"Looking forward with all the extra product we have coming on ships, all the product on rail throughout the system," he said. "We look to be well supplied for the foreseeable future."
Steve McGrath of the Governor's Energy Office said Gov. Paul LePage and his transportation commissioner had both made phone calls Friday morning to the railroads, urging them to do more to get propane tank cars to the terminals.
McGrath and Jamie Py both also said Maine needs to build more propane storage, to avoid similar problems in the future.