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New Jersey Declares Emergency to Ease Propane Bottleneck After Marcus Hook Failure

The order loosens trucking limits to keep heat flowing following an electrical failure that restricted Marcus Hook operations.

Overview

  • Gov. Phil Murphy’s declaration took effect at 9 a.m. Friday and remains in place until officials determine the risk has passed.
  • A federal waiver extends allowable driving time for propane haulers from 11 to 14 hours with 10 consecutive hours off duty required.
  • The disruption traces to a Nov. 19 transformer incident at Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook Terminal that disabled the truck-loading rack and left the site unable to pump from storage caverns.
  • Terminals are loading directly from pipeline with longer wait times, customers are on allocation at roughly 70% of normal loads, and the repair timeline remains unclear.
  • About 186,000 New Jerseyans depend on propane for heat as an Arctic surge drives temperatures lower, industry groups stress this is a distribution problem not a fuel shortage, and trucks are sourcing from alternate hubs like Bayway as Pennsylvania issues similar hours waivers and NPGA seeks a regional exemption.