Gov. Janet Mills is seeking additional federal funding for heating assistance this winter, telling federal officials she has “serious concern” about whether residents can afford to heat their homes.
In a letter to the secretaries of the US Departments of Health and Human Services and Energy on Friday, Mills noted that Maine is the most reliant state on heating oil in the country, with 60 percent of households heated with fuel, compared to the national average. of 4 percent.
That, plus Maine’s reliance on oil being delivered by truck and its older housing stock, create unique challenges for residents.
“These conditions make Maine clearly vulnerable to rising prices and volatility in the global fossil fuel market,” Mills said in the letter, which was also sent to the state’s congressional delegation.
Paul Sabato, a driver for Heatable, delivers oil to a home in Scarborough last October. Governor Janet Mills sent a letter to the federal government on Friday requesting additional money for the Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program to help Mainers pay for oil deliveries. Gregory A. Rec/Staff Photographer
Mills also asked federal officials to expand eligibility for its Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program to those who have not needed it in the past, as prices are expected to remain high throughout the winter.
Assistance through LIHEAP is limited to low-income families, with income limits ranging from $30,860 a year for a single person, $59,348 for a family of four to $85,461 for a family of 10. Mills did not offer a specific proposal for expanding eligibility.
The request comes on the same day as US oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported Record earnings in the second quarter. Exxon Mobil made $17.85 billion in profit in the second quarter, while Chevron made $11.62 billion, according to the Associated Press.
Mills said the average home heating oil price was nearly $5 a gallon in June, down from a high of more than $6 a gallon earlier this year. Still, those prices are the highest on record since the state began tracking heating oil prices 15 years ago. Mills attributed the high oil prices to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
Around this time last year, the price of home heating oil was about half what it is today, at $2.58 a gallon, according to the governor’s office of energy.
Maine typically receives about $40 million in heating assistance for LIHEAP, which Mills says helps between 35,000 and 40,000 households.
Last year, the state received an additional $55 million for LIHEAP, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. That was enough to provide an average tank and a half of heating oil per household, Mills said. Without additional assistance, she said the program could only provide households with half a tank of oil on average.
“For vulnerable Maine households, this is the difference between having heat security during our coldest months for perhaps only days or weeks, rather than months,” Mills said.
Mills outlined the steps the state has taken to switch to renewable energy, weatherize homes and install more than 60,000 high-efficiency heat pumps. But the state needs additional short-term assistance as it pursues its long-term climate goals, he said.
“Even with this progress, we must take action to help the people of Maine with the record energy prices they will face this coming winter,” he said.
” Previous
Next ”
related stories
Invalid username / password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Please use the form below to reset your password. When you’ve emailed your account, we’ll send you an email with a reset code.