Maine Heating Oil Hits $1,650, Putting Susan Collins on Defensive in Senate Race
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 8
Maine Heating Oil Hits $1,650, Putting Susan Collins on Defensive in Senate Race
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 8
Summary
$1,650 is now the cost to fill a standard heating-oil tank in Maine, about 80% higher than a year ago, turning fuel prices into a central issue in Susan Collins's reelection fight.
Trump's war with Iran has clogged a vital oil shipping corridor, driving the surge in a state that relies unusually heavily on heating oil as colder weather arrives.
Troy Jackson has blamed Collins for the rising costs, while Collins—who initially backed the war but has opposed it for months—faces what strategists in both parties describe as a major political headwind.
The pressure extends beyond Maine because the Senate contest could help decide chamber control, even as heating-oil costs are hitting the frosty Northeast more sharply than much of the country.
With Maine heating oil prices shattering records, how will vulnerable households survive the freezing winter before emergency federal aid finally arrives?
Will the unprecedented cost to fill a standard oil tank finally force the most oil-dependent state to aggressively abandon fossil fuels?
As global shipping disruptions drain US distillate stockpiles, could the Northeast face a catastrophic winter energy shortage beyond just skyrocketing costs?