Oakland and Atlanta (special to ZennieReport.com) – Regular readers to ZennieReport.com are aware that this Oakland blogger and vlogger reported on the illegal efforts of AmeriGas Propane in jacking up propane prices on my Mother’s propane account and during Georgia Governor Kemp’s State of Emergencies issued on January 9th and March 17th, 2025. AmeriGas increased prices over 200 percent, from $159 for January of 2024, to $589 for January of 2025.
After I complained about the pricing issue to AmeriGas, the monthly price was dropped to $326 but with a warning that AmeriGas was going to increase it to $405 by April 1st 2025. Again, no reason given for these increases. And at the time, and years before, AmeriGas never had an electronic use monitor placed on our tank.
And AmeriGas never billed my Mom for an annual rental fee for what is our tank – no invoice. Yet they want to take her tank, and have a little note on her online account that the “tank rental” is $93, but that was not on any invoice ever sent to us. My Mom and late Stepfather inherited that tank when they bought the house and property way back in 2002. AmeriGas was no where to be seen; it was another propane company that worked with my folks.
AmeriGas Wants To Stop Service To 90-Year-Old Mother After Price Gouging Her
And now, AmeriGas wants to take a tank away from my Mom that they really do not own by June 2nd. This author wondered who else was facing this problem and it turns out that AmeriGas is a known price gouger. But why? And why would AmeriGas risk violating Georgia Price Gouging Law in the process? One reason may be that one of UGI Corporation’s major investors is BlackRock, an organization known for pushing corporate ownership of homes.
BlackRock, while not owning homes, is a major investor in companies that do. And according to a news report by Channel 2, WSB-TV Reporter Michael Doudna in Atlanta, there are three companies active in purchasing homes in the Atlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Area: Progress Residential, Mainstreet Renewal, and Invitation Homes.
Of Three Organizations Buying Homes In Georgia, One Has Ties To AmeriGas Propane
Of the three organizations Progress Residential is owned by Pretium Partners, a private equity firm that has no direct financial relationship with AmeriGas or UGI Corporation. Mainstreet Renewal is owned by Amherst Holdings, a real estate investing firm. Amherst Holdings, which manages around $20 billion in real estate investments, also owns or manages about 16,000 homes. Main Street Renewal is a $3.2 billion investment for Amherst Holdings’ Invitation Homes. But BlackRock owns 10.2 percent of the stock in Invitation Homes, which in turn owns UGI Corporation and that is the parent company of AmeriGas Propane.
Moreover, BlackRock also owns 15.6% of the company TEGNA, which owns WXIA11 Alive Television Station in Atlanta. That may explain why there’s no mainstream media news on BlackRock ‘s UGI Corporation’s activities with respect to AmeriGas in Georgia, but other TV stations can that have no ties to AmeriGas.
Can AmeriGas Influence National Home Sales Activity?
AmeriGas is the largest supplier of propane in America, with “over residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, wholesale and motor fuel customers in all 50 states from approximately 1,900 propane distribution locations” according to the AmeriGas Form 10-K filing of 2018. Given the age of the information, and the growth in the U.S. Population over that time, it’s very possible that the number is greater today.
While AmeriGas only serves a fraction of the 147 million homes in America, the number is large enough to have a contributing impact on home sales in some areas of the country. But as to whether there is definitive proof that AmeriGas is trying to push homeowners out of their homes to feed the acquisition appetite of BlackRock, the answer is that it doesn’t seem so, but there’s enough circumstantial evidence to warrant an investigation. This is because AmeriGas has an enormous number of complaints regarding price gouging. The question is why isn’t AmeriGas or UGI Corporation doing anything about it?
Stay tuned.