The Trump administration is releasing nearly $37 million in heating aid for Maine.
That comes after U.S. Sen. Susan Collins met this week with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House budget director Russell Vought, her office announced Friday morning.
This season Maine is getting about $36.7 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds, while the state’s four federally recognized tribes will receive $1.4 million to help their members stay warm.
Collins’ office called this one of the earliest releases in the program’s history.
“With home heating oil costs soaring, many Maine families and seniors on limited incomes are facing the prospect of extraordinarily high heating bills this winter. That is why I urged the Administration to expedite the release of this critical assistance, and why I fought so hard to protect and increase funding for LIHEAP. I am pleased that these funds are being released to help Mainers afford to heat their homes this winter without having to choose between staying warm and paying for other basic necessities,” Collins said in a statement.
The unlocked heating assistance comes as Mainers face higher costs to stay warm this winter. This week the average price for a gallon of heating oil was $5.97, up 79% from the same time last year, according to the Maine Department of Energy Resources.
That means it will cost Mainers about $725 more to fill a standard 275-gallon tank.
In eastern and Down East Maine, prices range from a low of $5.50 to a high of $6.30.
Collins, U.S. Sen. Angus King and more than two dozen other senators last month pressed the Trump administration for a swift release of heating aid. Gov. Janet Mills has called on Congress to increase funding for heating assistance, pointing to the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
That ongoing war has been the primary factor driving up heating oil and gasoline prices. The war effectively halted shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas flows.
Additionally, Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and Houthi strikes on Saudi energy production sites have further constricted global supplies in recent weeks, according to Reuters.
Mainers can apply for the heating aid through their local community action agency. Eligibility is determined by income, household size and availability of resources.