Home · Politics · Sep 24 archive
Senators Urge Trump to Release Heating Oil Reserves Amid Price Surge
Confirmed
In Short: Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, both representing Maine, have urged President Donald Trump to release home heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to alleviate the financial burden on Maine residents due to soaring prices.
Maine households are paying approximately $675 more to fill a heating oil tank compared to last year, according to a survey by the Maine Department of Energy Resources.
The senators cited the rising diesel prices, which have surged to a record over $6.50 a gallon, as a key factor in their request.
Collins and King noted that earlier this year, the president ordered a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and they argued that the same urgency now applies to the heating oil reserve.
The reserve, established in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton, holds 1 million barrels of ultra-low sulfur diesel, designated for heating oil, to protect the Northeast in case of a supply disruption.
The reserve has not been tapped since 2012, when it provided fuel to emergency responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
In their letter to Trump, the senators highlighted that Maine is particularly vulnerable to global supply shocks because the state imports much of its home heating oil.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine estimated that this winter, Maine households will pay an additional $319 million to heat their homes, compared to last year.
On average, this would mean a household could pay $1,262 more for heating oil this winter.
In addition to the heating oil reserve, Collins also joined Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island in asking the administration to release home heating program money to help low-income households.
The White House has denied reports of a 90-day ban on diesel exports, despite calls for such a ban due to the soaring diesel prices.
Background
Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
What's confirmed
- "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 Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, wrote in a letter to Trump on Tuesday.
- The statewide average heating oil price was $5.77 as of Sept. 14, according to the Maine Department of Energy Resources.
What's still developing
- Trump's budget last year proposed to shut the reserve, which is expensive to maintain.
- Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier discusses key U.S. Senate races in Maine and Michigan and the GOP’s first 2026 midterm convention on ‘The Story.’ Maine's two U.S. senators, Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King, Jr., have urged President Donald Trump to unleash home heating oil reserves in a bid to help alleviate elevated prices.
- Americans have been facing elevated fuel prices, with the AAA national average for diesel hitting its highest recorded average price of $6.5276 as of Tuesday, before barely creeping down to $6.5217 as of Wednesday, then $6.5141 as of Thursday.
- That figure is about 74% higher than back when the statewide heating oil average price was $3.32 as of September 15, 2025.
- 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.
- “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.