When heating oil surges, Mainers must weather it together | Opinion

Tae Chong is the executive director of Furniture Friends, serves on the board of directors of Good Shepherd Food Bank and previously served as the weatherization program officer at MaineHousing and as a Portland city councilor. He lives in Portland.

If you recently received your first heating oil delivery of the season, you likely felt the shock that so many Maine households are facing right now. The current heating oil bill is almost double that of last year, and it may continue to climb this winter.

With wholesale energy pressures pushing fuel prices sharply higher, staying warm this winter feels like an uphill climb. It can seem overwhelming, but for those who remember 2006 to 2008, we have seen this script before.

Back then, crude oil spiked toward record highs and retail heating oil almost doubled in two years. Serving as weatherization program officer at MaineHousing during that crisis, I watched families forced to ration fuel, burning roughly 150 fewer gallons just to get by. LIHEAP applications surged by 25%. Even after Congress doubled Maine’s emergency block grant, the money bought fewer gallons than the prior year because fuel costs outpaced federal formulas.

Maine remains the most heating-oil-dependent state in the country, with over half of our households heating with oil. Because our state is largely rural, an energy price hike never stops at the burner. Crude oil drives diesel and maritime fuel. That means higher freight costs to stock shelves in rural grocery stores, bigger fuel bills for truckers and lobstermen and higher grocery bills for working families.

When fuel spikes collide with rising electricity rates and grocery inflation, traditional safety nets stretch thin. The average low-income family has less than $400 in emergency savings. They cannot absorb thousands in added winter costs. When forced to choose between heat, groceries, or medicine, families cut the only flexible line item they have: food.

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Meeting this moment takes collaboration on two fronts: forward-looking policy and grassroots community action.

First, policymakers have an opportunity to lead early. Our congressional delegation can champion supplemental LIHEAP funding that reflects today’s fuel prices. In Augusta, state leaders can safeguard emergency fuel assistance, municipal revenue sharing and vital efficiency and weatherization initiatives through Efficiency Maine, regional community agencies and more.

Maine must also support regional service centers that provide essential shelter for unhoused neighbors. Portland has roughly 5% of the state’s population but more than 40% of its emergency shelter beds. Revenue sharing alone cannot address this imbalance. To keep every neighbor safe from freezing temperatures, the state should partner with communities such as Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, Brunswick, Sanford, Rockland and Presque Isle, which use local tax dollars and facilities to meet statewide shelter needs.

Second, state and federal policy take time, but winter weather does not wait. We can each make an immediate difference by lifting up the frontline organizations keeping Mainers safe.

When family budgets get poured into fuel tanks, food pantries absorb the shortfall. Supporting Good Shepherd Food Bank and local neighborhood pantries keeps families fed. Donating warm coats and heavy blankets to Maine Needs, Catholic Charities, faith organizations and other organizations brings immediate warmth into underheated homes.

At Furniture Friends, we see how fundamental furniture brings warmth and dignity. Mattresses and area rugs add thermal insulation, slowing conductive heat loss from cold floors. Last year alone, we provided nearly 900 beds to 864 families to ensure children and seniors never sleep on a freezing floor.

Mainers have always weathered tough winters by looking out for one another. By championing sound energy policies and supporting the local organizations on the ground, we can ensure every neighbor makes it through this winter with warmth, health and dignity.

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