Collins, King urge feds to release heating oil supply amid price surge

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine are calling on the federal government to release reserve heating oil as fuel prices continue to surge while temperatures drop. 

In a letter to President Donald Trump Tuesday, the senators urged him to release supply from the ​​Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to “protect Mainers from the very high prices that are imposing a difficult financial burden.” 

The reserve holds 1 million barrels of ultra low sulfur diesel, designated for heating oil, to protect the Northeast if there is a disruption in the heating oil supply. 

The Maine Department of Energy Resources reported last week that the average statewide price of heating oil was $5.77 per gallon, a 74% increase from this time last year. The department estimated that it will now cost nearly $675 more this year to fill a standard 275-gallon oil tank. 

“As the most heating oil-reliant state in the country, Maine people are particularly exposed to oil market price spikes,” Celina Cunningham, department acting commissioner, said in a press release. “Rising global energy prices driven by conflicts abroad are putting added pressure on households as we head into the winter heating season.”

Everyday increases cost Maine households $4,300 since Trump returned to office

Roughly half of Maine households use heating oil as their primary heating source. That number is down from 70% of households in 2010, according to the department. 

The Natural Resources Council of Maine on Monday released an analysis of heating oil costs, estimating that this winter Maine households will pay an additional $319 million to heat their homes, compared to last year. 

On average, that would mean a household could pay $1,262 more for heating oil this winter. 

In their letter, Collins and King noted that earlier this year the president ordered a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and said the “same urgency now applies” to the heating oil reserve. 

They also said the wars in Iran and Ukraine have prevented additional supplies from reaching the global market. 

“Maine is particularly vulnerable to global supply shocks because our state imports much of our home heating oil,” Collins and King wrote. “With both domestic and international supplies running low, a release from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve would help ease these prices.”