If you live in Michigan, particularly the northern part of the state, propane fuels your quality of life—in ways you may not even realize. Michigan is consistently at the top of the list for residential propane use by state, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
National statistics for 2023, the most recent year available, were made public in September 2024, and echo a very familiar pattern:
Michigan in 2023:
No. 1among states in residential propane sales (349 million gallons)
No. 2among states in overall propane sales (491 million gallons)
Enbridge’s Line 5 plays an essential role in providing the comforts of home for Michigan residents, particularly those in non-urban areas. Line 5 serves:
As Michigan government agencies have noted, no viable alternative exists for the propane provided by Line 5.
Residential: Heating homes, cooking meals
According to the Michigan Public Service Commission, about 320,000 Michigan households rely on propane as their primary heating fuel—and it’s not just about staying warm. For many of these homes, propane also cooks their food, heats their water and dries their clothes.
How important is propane to home heating in Michigan?
Essential to agricultural, construction sectors
An estimated 8,000 farms across Michigan rely on propane—particularly at harvest time, and through winter.
In late summer and early fall, propane is used to power grain-drying equipment, helping to reduce moisture content of corn, wheat and soybeans, and maximizing the quality of grain without overdrying. And in the midst of Michigan’s harsh winters, farmers use propane to heat greenhouses and livestock housing.
Propane is also used to power forklifts and other equipment in the construction industry, and supplies the flame for restaurant kitchens and outdoor grills everywhere.
This Michigan Public Service Commission map, from its 2024-25 Winter Energy Appraisal, shows relative propane home heating rates by county across the state of Michigan. Click on the map to see a larger version.
The critical role of Line 5
Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, which carries natural gas liquids (NGLs) for 550 miles across Michigan, plays a foundational role in propane supply to the people of Michigan, as noted by government agencies.
Deliveries of NGLs are regularly made from Line 5 to the Plains LPG Rapid River Terminal, on the Upper Peninsula, where they’re refined into propane and shipped by truck to regional customers for domestic use.
NGLs carried on Line 5 are also refined into propane in Sarnia, Canada, and returned directly to Michigan for consumption and storage. Shutting down Line 5, even temporarily, would cause a Michigan propane shortage of 756,000 gallons per day.
In August 2018, the Michigan Agency for Energy (now part of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE), warned about the consequences of a Line 5 shutdown on Michigan propane supplies during a Line 5 Market Impacts/Alternatives analysis presentation to the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board (MPSAB).
As part of its analysis, MI Energy reported:
- “A significant percentage (as much as 75%) of the propane available in the Lower Peninsula is derived from NGL that is shipped via Line 5 to Sarnia and returned to Michigan . . . Disruption to the delivery of NGL and production of propane in Sarnia would have immediate and serious impacts to Michigan and the region.”
- “Line 5 also has a regional impact on market prices. Even if Michigan had no direct use for Line 5 (i.e. it was a total pass through from Wisconsin to Ontario), the loss of Line 5 would cause crude and propane supply shortages elsewhere. Those shortages would raise demand for crude and refined products used in Michigan, which drives up prices in Michigan and the region.”
- “Additionally, if for whatever reason Line 5 and the products it transports were suddenly unavailable, there would be consequences to our energy security, likely resulting in a reduction in our resiliency and our ability to withstand future energy supply disruptions or market volatility.”
