South Dakota propane prices

South Dakota heats a larger share of its homes with propane than nearly any other state, and its dealers cover long distances to do it. Grain drying pulls hard through the fall across the eastern counties, and the winter that follows is severe. Supply comes by pipeline into eastern terminals and by rail and truck from the Rockies and the Gulf Coast, which makes a January rail bottleneck a real risk here.

This is a surveyed average rather than a quote. EIA polls a sample of South Dakota propane dealers weekly through the October to March heating season and publishes the state figure Wednesday afternoon; the series then goes quiet until October. EIA also surveys a wholesale price for South Dakota, plotted as the lower line. The distance between the two is the delivered-service stack, and it widens when the rack falls faster than dealers reprice. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey, on five-year estimates, puts propane as the main heating fuel in 15.5% of occupied South Dakota homes, the 3rd highest share in the country. A hard winter is a bigger household event here than the national average suggests.

The regional numbers around this price are Midwest propane prices and Midwest propane stocks, the inventory that has to cover the winter. A price per gallon is not a delivery ticket. The propane usage calculator estimates gallons burned and what a fill costs at the current South Dakota survey price.