Senators Collins, King Call on President Trump to Release Home Heating Oil from Northeast Reserve as Prices Surge

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King sent a letter to President Trump urging him to release supply from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to help protect Mainers from high costs as the cold weather months approach.

According to the Maine Department of Energy Resources' most recent weekly fuel survey, statewide heating oil prices have increased by 74 percent compared to this time last year. It now costs approximately $675 more to fill a standard heating oil tank than it did last year, imposing a significant hardship on the half of Maine households that heat their homes with fuel oil.

"We write to request that you release home heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to protect Mainers from the very high prices that are imposing a difficult financial burden," Senators Collins and King wrote. "You ordered a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve earlier this year to help address rising costs, and we believe the same urgency now applies to the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve."

"The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook finds that U.S. distillate fuel inventories, which include home heating oil, fell below the five-year range in April and are expected to remain below the 2021-2025 low through the end of 2026 and most of 2027," they continued. "According to the EIA, 'Low inventories may also contribute to higher prices for residential heating oil in the Northeastern United States.'"

"Further, the conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine War have prevented additional heating oil from reaching the global market. Maine is particularly vulnerable to global supply shocks because our state imports much of our home heating oil. With both domestic and international supplies running low, a release from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve would help ease these prices," the Senators concluded.

Click here to read their letter in full.

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