Maine Senators Urge Trump to Tap Heating Oil Reserve as Diesel Prices Hit Record

Maine's two US senators have asked President Donald Trump to draw on the country's emergency heating oil stockpile, citing record diesel prices that are driving up household costs in the state most dependent on the fuel.

In a letter sent on Tuesday, Republican Susan Collins and independent Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats, urged the president to release home heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to shield residents from prices they described as a difficult financial burden.

Maine households are paying roughly $675 more to fill a heating oil tank than they did a year ago, the senators said, citing a survey by the Maine Department of Energy Resources. Collins, who faces a competitive re-election contest in November's midterm elections, said energy costs are a major concern in her state and that tapping the reserve would help ease price pressure.

Diesel prices, which track closely with heating oil, have climbed past $6.50 a gallon to a record, as the wars in Iran and Ukraine have constrained fuel production and petroleum shipments. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

Collins also joined Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island in asking the administration to disburse home heating assistance funds for low-income households.

The reserve, established in 2000 under then-president Bill Clinton, holds 1 million barrels of diesel across four sites stretching from Maine to New Jersey — enough to cover roughly 10 days of heating oil demand for the region. It was last used in 2012, when it supplied fuel to emergency responders after Hurricane Sandy. Trump's budget proposal last year sought to close the reserve, citing the cost of maintaining it.

Record diesel prices have also prompted calls to ban exports of the fuel, though the White House on Wednesday rejected a news report that it was preparing a 90-day diesel export ban.