ANALYSIS:
Maine Families Will Pay Upwards of $1,260 More for Heating Oil This Winter

September 21, 2026

By Jack Shapiro, NRCM Climate & Clean Energy Director

Even in light of significant progress in recent years shifting away from expensive fuels for heating, about 50% of Maine households still use heating oil to stay warm in the winter

When comparing today’s prices to prices from one year ago, hundreds of thousands of Maine households should expect to pay a total of more than $390 million extra to heat their homes this winter, an average of more than $1,260 per family.

The High Cost of Fossil Fuel Dependence for Maine

Maine is the most heating oil-dependent state in the country. Even in light of significant progress in recent years shifting away from expensive fuels for heating, about 50% of Maine households still use heating oil to stay warm in the winter. According to the most recent census data, more than 300,000 households in Maine still heat with expensive heating oil.

High heating oil prices are looming over Maine families as heating season approaches. Prices have spiked since the War in Iran began in late February 2026.

Heating oil prices have soared since last winter due to global events, particularly the war in Iran, and hardworking Maine families will be stuck with the high cost of depending on expensive and polluting imported fuels.

With heating season approaching, NRCM analyzed historical and current heating oil prices, and estimates that with prices today versus were what they were last year, Mainers will pay approximately $$390,310,340 more to heat their homes between now and the end of April 2027.

Methodology

The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) used data from the Maine Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to compare current heating oil prices (data current as of September 17, 2026) with historical prices for the corresponding week from the year before the War in Iran started on February 28, 2026. Estimates of weekly residential heating oil usage was created using data from the EIA, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data, and original calculations were made to determine the estimated weekly and monthly price premium between this year and last year’s heating costs, indexed by average heating degree days by month.