Homeowners on Martha’s Vineyard are voicing frustration over delayed propane deliveries from AmeriGas, the largest retail propane distributor in the U.S., with some residents reporting that they’ve gone days without heat in their homes amid the prolonged freezing temperatures and snowy weather that struck the Island recently.
Kathryn Leonard, a seasonal Island resident, said she received a delivery at her home in Vineyard Haven only on Feb. 4, weeks after she initially called AmeriGas on Jan. 23 because she was concerned her propane tank was empty. Leonard said she uses AmeriGas’ automatic delivery service and should not have had to request propane deliveries at all.
“I was on hold for AmeriGas at the Vineyard for over one hour. Then I was told I was being transferred to a supervisor. No response on that line for over an hour,” said Leonard about the initial call to AmeriGas in late January, in an email to The Times.
Leonard said that nine days later, on Jan. 31, with no response from AmeriGas yet, an emergency system notified that her house’s temperature was dropping to freezing.
“Again, no response from AmeriGas delivery system,” said Leonard in the email. “This house is a historic 1845 Greek Revival that was restored at great expense. I do not want the house destroyed due to AmeriGas’ incompetence.”
Leonard escalated her concerns by filing a complaint on Feb. 4 with the state attorney general’s office on behalf of herself and other Islanders.
“This complaint is not only about Kathryn Leonard. It is a complaint that is affecting many Vineyard families who are not getting delivery of propane and are losing heat and finding probable house damages from frozen pipes,” Leonard wrote in her complaint to the attorney general’s office.
AmeriGas emailed Leonard on Feb. 4 and said that her propane was coming, and that the inconvenience was because the company was taking increased safety precautions when delivering to tanks at less than five percent capacity. Propane companies often require a leak test and inspection when tanks are almost empty, and someone at least 18 years old must be present at the time of delivery.
“Please be sure to have someone over the age of 18 at the location at the time the delivery is made to ensure no further interruption of service. At AmeriGas, your safety is our utmost concern, therefore, we need to take extra safety measures when delivering to a tank below 5 percent. I do apologize for any inconvenience this has caused,” said AmeriGas’ customer advocacy office in an email to Leonard.
Kerry Quinlan-Potter, an Island resident, said she also filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office. Quinlan-Potter said she was without heat for days after receiving a note from AmeriGas that said delivery was impossible due to snow covering her tanks on Jan. 31. She said her tanks are above ground and accessible via her driveway.
Quinlan-Potter took to social media to express her frustration, and said she went five days with no heat, no hot water, and no end in sight. In an interview with The Times on Feb. 10, Quinlan-Potter said her propane tanks were at less than one percent, and her house’s internal temperature was 50 degrees for days.
Quinlan-Potter said she cleared the snow off her tanks immediately after AmeriGas denied her delivery and spoke with the delivery driver personally, who instructed her to text a number to follow up. But no delivery came over the following weekend, and repeated attempts to reach AmeriGas went unanswered, she said.
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, four days later, Quinlan-Potter said her propane came, but it wasn’t without a fuss. AmeriGas initially said that day that it would be another 24 hours for the system to update her approved delivery status, and that the propane would be delivered on Wednesday, but after four days of withstanding freezing temperatures inside her home, Quinlan-Potter refused to take no for an answer.
Quinlan-Potter said she notified her insurance company of service lapses as advised by other residents experiencing similar issues, because any resulting damages could be AmeriGas’ responsibility. She also filed complaints with the attorney general’s office and consumer protection offices.
“They said it was coming Wednesday, and I said that is absolutely not happening,” said Quintan-Potter in an interview with The Times. “I am a fully able-bodied person. The problem is that there are people who live here who are not as resilient as I am and will take no for an answer.”
Quinlan-Potter said since she posted on Facebook on Feb. 3, many homeowners, including a lot of elderly, have reached out echoing her struggles with AmeriGas.
“There’s a definite disconnect between necessity and convenience for people. Yes, it wasn’t a convenient delivery; however, from Friday to the following Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, is not an acceptable period of time,” she said. “This is not something you do to people in the middle of the winter on an isolated island where everybody is already doing everything they can to help each other out.”
This isn’t the first time residents have had issues with AmeriGas. The state’s attorney general office has received 184 complaints since Jan. 1, 2020. Twenty-one of those complaints reported their address as Aquinnah, Chilmark, West Tisbury, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, or Tisbury. Other propane companies that work on the Island, like Island Propane, Rhymes, and Star Propane, haven’t received any complaints in the last five years.
Previously, when similar issues arose on the Island in March 2025 and residents reported propane tanks not being filled, AmeriGas responded to Island residents in a letter stating that limitations with the Steamship Authority factored into delays.
In a statement emailed to The Times, AmeriGas Group Director of ICS and Customer Relations Brilynn Johnson said, regarding AmeriGas’ potential delayed deliveries, that Islanders should take into consideration that the weather on Martha’s Vineyard has been 6.4 percent colder than what was reported in 2025, and 13 percent colder than previous years, but the company is trying their best.
“Due to the recent extreme winter conditions across a large portion of the country, AmeriGas has undertaken extraordinary efforts to ensure we keep our customers safe and warm. We are servicing more customers this year than last and have performed better in delivery operations during colder than normal weather periods, compared to previous years,” said Johnson in the email. “In addition to our normal AmeriGas operations, we are flying in extra drivers from other parts of the country to assist with deliveries and have extended daily service hours to meet the heightened demand.
“Some customers may notice their tank levels running lower than they’re accustomed to due to increased usage during prolonged cold weather. It is important to note that this is typical during extended cold snaps, and only a very few customers have experienced service interruptions,” she added.
In the email, Johnson said AmeriGas encourages all customers to help ensure timely deliveries by maintaining clear delivery paths, removing snow, ice, and low-hanging branches to provide at least 10 feet of clearance for delivery vehicles; clearing snow and ice off equipment and vents, including propane systems, gas lines, regular vents, and chimneys to prevent equipment malfunctions; using reflective markers to identify underground tank locations when buried in the snow; and ordering proactively, requesting delivery whenever their tank reaches 30 to 40 percent, especially in vacation homes where usage is less predictable.
For customers monitoring their own fuel levels, AmeriGas recommends reviewing accounts online, which displays average daily consumption and estimated days until empty.
“We remain committed to safe, reliable service for all Martha’s Vineyard residents and appreciate our customers’ partnership during the winter season,” said Johnson.
I left Amerigas years ago when my furnace died and was told that classified it as an appliance therefore couldn’t do a repair for 2 weeks. I was a contract, pre buy customer. Left them, switched over to Star Propane. Best decision. Locally owned and operated!
MV Propane (previously Rhymes) let us know immediately that they needed us to clear a path for their truck, and even though the path my daughter cleared was not wide enough for their truck, the driver accommodated us by parking on the street and tramping through the snow to reach our tanks. Kudos to him and his company. Also, the company responded immediately to me when I asked them to please reschedule the delivery.
I quit them years ago after a billing dispute.
They eventually came on my property and put a padlock on the tank, which they illegally refused to sell to me.
I was told by my new company (Star) that all locks on underground tanks take a universal key, as required by industry standards for safety reasons. When Star showed up, their key didn’t work, but my bolt cutters did. 🙂 The manager at AmeriGas was so mad when I gave him back his lock and told him to stay off my property, he referred me to a collection agency. I wrote to the collection agency with documentation and explanations of the erroneous charges. They thanked me and dropped their efforts to pursue me. AmeriGas eventually gave up sending me nasty letters after I made it clear that they would never get a dime out of me.
Star is a great company …
Here is another problem with gas companies, especially Rymes, my family had used them. They are so welcoming when you first contact them and they offer to supply a free underground tank, that you pay to install. Because they own the tank they charge you a lot more for gas. Then if you not use the minimum amount of gas they charge you a big penalty. Then when you realize your getting screwed you offer to buy the used tank from them and they give you a price higher than a new tank. Then when you offer to buy them a brand new exact same tank and deliver it to them, so you don’t have to remove yours, they decline that also. My folks switched to Star.
Switch to one of the others, but Star is the best!