PERC News
Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) Meeting Feb. 12 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Council approved four funding requests totaling a little over $1.1 million to support safety and technical training initiatives for the propane industry workforce, including updating the Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) into a new, more user-friendly format to include transitioning the 14 different certification areas to 47 task-based training modules. Stuart Weidie, chairman of the Council’s Environmental Task Force, gave a report on work since early November to develop messages that the industry can use to combat inaccurate perceptions about propane’s relevance as a fuel of the future.
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The goal is to develop a coordinated outreach campaign for rollout to the industry at the Southeast Expo in April. Weidie divided the work among three sub-groups to address messaging to different audiences: Policy/Public Influencers, Propane Industry/Consumers, and Opposition/ Electric Competition. PERC’s Senior Vice President, Communications Tina Wilson shared the results of a national perceptions study by Kelton Global to understand Americans’ knowledge of different types of energy, perceptions of propane versus other energy types, and understanding of environmental associations and messaging opportuni-
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ties for PERC. The Council announced a new appointment to the Advisory Committee since the November meeting: Matt Solak, Indiana Propane Gas Association and Pacific Propane Gas Association (Lansing, MI), to the Research and Technology Development Working Group. The Council approved the following funding requests: Docket 22213: 2020 Partnerships with Industry Organizations, $1,495,000 Docket 22395: 2020 CETP Program Support, $304,850 Docket 22396: 2020 Learning Center Support, $305,500 Docket 22397: 2020 CETP Modularization Project, $485,370 Docket 22405: Propane Emergencies Strategic Planning, $25,000
