Heating oil costs are nearing the record set in 2022. Mainers are paying attention.
Maine heating oil prices have surged to near-record levels as winter approaches, leaving residents across the state weighing whether to fill their tanks or wait for relief that may not come.
State data shows the average price for heating oil hit $5.77 per gallon on Tuesday, just 15 cents below the May 2022 record set after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Maine Department of Energy Resources reported Tuesday that prices are 74% higher than this time last year, meaning a typical 275-gallon tank will cost $600 more to fill this season.
The spike stems from the ongoing war in Iran and reduced oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz. For Greg Rossel of Troy, the numbers have been climbing all summer. In June, No. 2 oil cost $4.40 a gallon; by early September it had reached $5.76, then jumped another 20 cents the following morning.
“I’ll just wait till the prices get lower,” Rossel recalled telling himself at the start of summer. Now, he said, he is wondering when to stop waiting. “I haven’t seen any oil trucks driving around town, and this is the time of year you usually see those.”
About half of Maine homes still rely on heating oil, the highest rate nationally. Statewide, the average household faces $1,262 in additional heating costs this winter, with total residential expenses expected to reach $390 million through April 2027.
Temperatures are already delivering an early chill. Caribou has recorded nightly lows in the 30s four times this month, and forecasters predict Bangor will see lows in the low 40s every night for the coming week. Frost advisories have blanketed parts of northern and western Maine.
Jason Parent, CEO of the Aroostook County Action Program, said his agency served 10,000 households last year and is bracing for worse. “We’re really looking at the potential for some really tragic consequences to happen this winter of individuals that are going to be in a crisis situation,” he said.
Federal assistance through LIHEAP remains constrained. Maine receives roughly $40 million annually, with about $26 million earmarked for heating aid. Funds were delayed during last year’s government shutdown and typically do not reach accounts until Thanksgiving. A bipartisan group of 31 senators, including Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Jack Reed, recently urged the Department of Health and Human Services to release October funds quickly.
“October marks the start of the heating season for many states, and with temperatures already dropping, low-income families and seniors are feeling additional strains on their household budgets,” the senators wrote. “A quick release of funding will ensure no gaps in assistance.”
Even so, Parent noted that LIHEAP dollars will buy less fuel this year regardless of price, and ACAP’s donor-funded emergency assistance does not open until November 1. Many of the families seeking help fit the ALICE profile: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
“We literally have received calls like that year after year,” Parent said, quoting residents who decline aid so it can go to those deemed needier. “‘If we don’t go out to eat at Governor’s once a month, and we turn the thermostat down a little bit, and we, God forbid, ‘cut our pills in half, we can not apply this season.’”
In Troy, the United Church of Christ is sharing its building weekly with the nearby Dixfield United Methodist Church, rotating services to cut heating costs. With few short-term alternatives, Parent offered a blunt assessment: “There’s no ramen noodle solution to this.”
The best-case scenario, he said, is a swift resolution to the geopolitical pressures tightening oil markets. Otherwise, he is preparing for the worst.
