MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently announced an extension to the State of Energy Emergency until March 1st.

The executive order will extend the hours of service energy companies can have workers on the road to deliver much needed propane.

Michigan homeowners dependent on the gas for heating have seen an increase in cost around one dollar in the last three months.

"Even though we have been locked in (propane cost) I have seen the prices increase and I'm afraid of what's going to become when we go to re-lock in," said Thomas Bishop, a propane customer and Meridian Township resident.

The Michigan Propane Gas Association says the propane shortage is due to a number of factors:

-One of the worst winters in Michigan history

-Farmers drying out crops

-The temporary shutdown of a Midwest pipeline