LP Gas, August 2010

NEWS B R I E FS NFPA 58 committee to oppose CSB appeal The National Fire Protection Associations Technical Committee on Liquefi ed Petroleum Gases plans to formally oppose a U S Chemical Safety Board CSB appeal that would change NFPA Pamphlet 58 training requirements CSB proposed the change following its investigation of a fatal propane explosion in 2007 at the Little General Store in Ghent W Va It wants to revise the requirements that address the training of industry personnel to carry out their jobs The Technical Committee objected to some of the language in the CSB proposal that could be interpreted to apply to workers outside the industry such as employees at convenience stores who assist customers in loading their cylinders into vehicles The committee voted to oppose the CSB appeal at the NFPA Standards Council meeting in August It also will propose that a tentative interim amendment be developed to address the concerns of the CSB in a more acceptable manner White House to review new HOS proposal The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA has sent its proposal for a new hoursof service rule to the White House Offi ce of Manage VitalSigns PERC to invest 3 million for LPG fueled bobtail school bus The Propane Education Research Council PERC will invest 3 million to help develop a long awaited propane fueled 8 liter engine and mediumduty truck chassis for use in propane bobtail trucks and school buses Council on July 15 approved a 2 million grant to help certify a Freightliner chassis and a General Motors engine A request for another 1 million is expected in 2011 The 15 million project The new engine will replace the GM 81 liter for the medium duty truck market is a partnership between Freightliner Custom Chassis Powertrain Integration and CleanFuel USA Vehicle delivery is expected in 2013 according to Bob Harbin president of Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp The partners plan to certify the engine for use in the U S on road market for up to 33000 pounds with a propane fuel system The initial vehicle releases will be in school buses built by Thomas on Freightliner chassis and in propane bobtail trucks also built on Freightliner chassis A generator prepped version of the engine also will be released to the propane agriculture market later in the project according to Harbin I N D U S T R Y N E W S N U M B E R S LP Gas Stock Index PROPANE MASTER LIMITED PARTNERSHIP COMPARISON Continued on page 12 Total Units Quarter Price Tax Debt Debt Outstanding Company Symbol Ended 7 26 10 Distribution Yield Deferral Capital Mkt Cap millions AmeriGas APU March 4468 282 63 75 61 29 571 Energy Transfer ETP March 5083 358 70 80 54 63 1884 Ferrellgas FGP April 2418 200 83 90 87 66 695 Inergy NRGY March 4304 282 66 80 55 43 642 Suburban SPH March 4925 338 69 80 43 20 353 Average 70 60 44 LAST TWELVE MONTHS Gross Gross Gross Profi t EBITDA Gallons Sold Percent Gross Profi t EBITDA Company Revenue Profi t Margin Per employee millions millions Change Per gallon Per gallon AmeriGas 22524 9260 411 155630 339 904 74 102 037 Energy Transfer 12848 6803 529 160182 275 567 25 120 049 Ferrellgas 20580 7333 356 201622 260 688 65 107 038 Inergy 16593 4853 292 171970 262 331 40 147 079 Suburban 6360 5419 852 194718 211 325 101 167 065 Average 488 176825 19 129 054 1 Energy Transfer LTM results are only those of ETPs propane segment Heritage Propane Wachovia Capital Markets LLC 2 Suburbans gallons sold include propane and heating oil gallons Ron Londe analyst 8 LPGas August 2010 www LPGasmagazine com