If you look at (and update) the interactive map on
www.filllpg.co.uk, you'll see that there are some areas of the country that have virtually none while others are OK. I asked in my local Flogas depot and was told it is a combination of a number of things. One of the main refineries in the UK that processes Propane, a by-product of petrol and diesel production, is currently not working due to a planned shut down for maintenance. This wasn't expected to cause a problem as increased supplies would be coming in from mainland Europe. However, an explosion at one of the main European refineries in Austria just before Christmas has resulted in a shortage in Europe too. Combine that with the cold weather resulting in increased demand for Propane for heating in off-grid households means that increased demand and lack of supply means someone has to suffer. Although quicker to fill a bulk tank than it takes to fill our tanks, it still isn't quick and delivery drivers have to comply with driving hours regs. Given the choice between delivering to 4 or 5 households that are in danger of dying from hypothermia and filling a filling station so we can run our cars on cheap fuel, guess who takes priority.
However, they did say that things should be back to normal in a couple of weeks.