NJ Gov. Murphy Declares Emergency Over Propane Disruption

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency on Thursday, effective at 9 a.m. Friday, to address a potential disruption in propane supplies for home and commercial heating amid freezing temperatures and a service interruption at a major distribution facility in Pennsylvania.

The order targets a bottleneck at Energy Transfer's Marcus Hook Terminal in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, where an electrical fault in a transformer on November 19 has prevented the pumping of propane from storage caverns. The incident initially disabled the facility's propane truck loading rack for three days, prompting Energy Transfer to declare force majeure. Customers are now on allocation, receiving about 70 percent of their usual loads, with trucks loading directly from the pipeline and facing extended wait times. Alternate distribution points, such as Phillips 66's Bayway refinery in Linden, New Jersey, are helping to reroute supplies.

Murphy's executive action waives federal hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers transporting heating fuels, extending maximum on-duty driving time from 11 hours to 14 hours while requiring 10 consecutive hours off between shifts. This...