Tennessee propane prices

EIA groups Tennessee with the Midwest for propane reporting even though its weather and much of its supply lean south. Demand sits in the rural counties across the state, in the mountains east of Knoxville and the farm country west of Nashville. Supply comes off Gulf Coast pipelines and river terminals. Milder winters mean the seasonal draw here is shallower than in the states EIA files it alongside.

The figure above is EIA's weekly survey average for Tennessee, collected from retail dealers during the October to March heating season and published Wednesday afternoons. No survey runs in the warm months, so the last spring reading stands until the fall. The second line on the chart is the wholesale price Tennessee dealers pay at the rack. What separates the two lines is the cost of getting a gallon into a tank behind a house, which is delivery, tank service and dealer margin together, not margin alone. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey, on five-year estimates, puts propane as the main heating fuel in 3.6% of occupied Tennessee homes, below the national middle.

Tennessee reports into EIA's Midwest district, so the wider read is Midwest propane prices and the Midwest inventory behind them. Turning this price into a fill cost takes a tank size and a gauge reading; the propane usage calculator does that arithmetic and prefills the Tennessee price.