Maine’s heating oil prices have risen to yet another high.
The average price for a gallon of heating oil is now $6.05, up from last week’s high of $6.04, according to the Maine Department of Energy Resources.
In eastern and Down East Maine, prices range from a low of $5.71 to a high of $6.40.
That statewide average is 82% higher than this time last year, when heating oil went for $3.32 a gallon.
Mainers will now have to spend an additional $750 to fill a standard 275-gallon tank.
“Heating oil prices in Maine are now breaking records week after week, putting growing pressure on Maine families as temperatures continue to drop,” said Celina Cunningham, acting energy commissioner. “I encourage Maine people to stay informed of current prices, review incentive options through Efficiency Maine, and to contact their Community Action Agency if they need immediate relief.”
Energy prices have been climbing globally since February when President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a surprise war against Iran. Although Trump said that the war would last only weeks, it entered its eighth month this week.
That war effectively halted fuel shipments out of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s natural gas and oil passes. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine also has strained global fuel supplies as both sides have traded blows on each other’s energy infrastructure as Trump moves ahead with plans to import Russian diesel. A first shipment departed for the U.S. last week.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration released about $37 million in low-income heating assistance for Maine. An additional $1.4 million was awarded to the state’s four federally recognized tribes. The administration also is tapping the Northeast heating oil reserves for the first time since 2012 when Hurricane Sandy devastated the northeastern U.S.
About half of Maine households (more than 300,000) rely on heating oil to stay warm during the winter, and consumption can average 2 to 7 gallons a day, depending on how cold it is outside. That means the 13.2 million gallons flowing from the Northeast stockpile would amount to approximately nine days of consumption at a rate of five gallons a day.
Correction: An earlier version of this report understated the additional cost to fill a standard heating oil tank.