Key facts
- Two US senators from Maine asked President Donald Trump to release home heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
- Maine households are paying about $675 more for heating oil than last year, according to a Maine Department of Energy Resources survey.
- Diesel prices have surged to a record over $6.50 a gallon.
- The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve stores 1 million barrels of diesel and holds about 10 days of heating oil for the region.
- The reserve has not been tapped since 2012 after Hurricane Sandy.
Two US senators from Maine, a state heavily reliant on home heating oil, have requested President Donald Trump to release fuel from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve as diesel prices reach record highs. Senators Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday urging the action to alleviate the financial burden on Mainers.
According to a survey by the Maine Department of Energy Resources, households in the state are now paying approximately $675 more to fill their heating oil tanks compared to last year. The senators attribute the surge in prices, which have pushed diesel to a record over $6.50 per gallon, to production constraints stemming from the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
Senator Collins stated that energy costs are a significant issue in her state and that tapping the reserve could help reduce prices. She also joined Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, in advocating for the release of home heating program funds for low-income households.
The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, established in 2000, holds 1 million barrels of diesel across four sites from Maine to New Jersey, providing roughly 10 days of heating oil for the region. It has not been utilized since 2012, following Hurricane Sandy, when it supplied fuel to emergency responders. Trump's budget last year had proposed closing the reserve due to maintenance costs.
Separately, the White House denied a news report suggesting the administration was preparing a 90-day ban on diesel exports.