Michigan Energy Use Rising

The Michigan Public Service Commission expects demand for energy to continue to rise across the state through the year. Energy use is already way up because of the cold winter. The MPSC anticipates that natural gas use will rise nearly 10 percent this year. Electrical use should increase by nearly two percent. There is good news… supply and prices for diesel fuel and gasoline are expected to hold fairly steady through the summer. The report also contains an analysis of the propane fuel shortage that hit many area residents very hard last winter. It blames the crisis on low pre-season inventories… above-average need for crop drying… below-average temperatures… and repairs that caused delivery interruptions. Officials say discussions are ongoing with propane providers to try to prevent that from happening again. (Todd VanDyke)