Chris Starling, of St Clair, contacted the Otago Daily Times yesterday after repeated delays trying to get Nova Energy to deliver a fresh gas cylinder to his home.
Mr Starling said he ordered a replacement cylinder every six weeks and it usually arrived the next day.
But, after trying unsuccessfully to get a cylinder delivered on Tuesday and Thursday this week, he was told by Nova staff yesterday a South Island-wide shipment problem meant he would have to wait.
Exactly how long the wait would last was not clear, as Nova’s staff could only say sometime between Monday and Friday next week, he said.
However, hours after after the ODT began asking questions of Nova yesterday, a gas cylinder suddenly appeared at Mr Starling’s house.
A Nova spokeswoman said the company had apologised to Mr Starling for poor communication, but blamed the delays on a combination of factors.
A cold snap last month had triggered a "sudden increase in demand" in the South Island, at the same time industry-wide production constraints limited supplies and poor weather disrupted shipping, she said.
"In some cases this caused short delays to deliveries in the South Island, but at all times Nova Energy worked hard to ensure customers were provided with ongoing supplies of lpg.
"Delivery schedules have now returned to normal," she said.
Mr Starling said he used gas to heat water and as a supplementary room heater, but always kept another cylinder as a backup.
He was more concerned a repeat could have more serious consequences for vulnerable members of the community, especially an elderly person who relied on gas to heat their home in winter.
"I’m from the northern hemisphere, where if you run out of gas, people die," he said.
The delay came as Genesis Energy Ltd announced yesterday it had completed its acquisition of Nova’s retail gas business, adding 35,000 customers to its books, and would take over Nova’s operation on August 1.
Nova’s spokeswoman said there was "no connection" between the purchase and recent lpg supply levels.
