The average price of heating oil has risen more than 40% since the start of the war in Iran, state officials said Thursday.

A gallon of heating oil averaged $5.40 statewide on Monday, according to the Maine Department of Energy Resources, which surveys prices each week. In Greater Portland, the average was 1 cent higher.

That’s the highest price per gallon Maine has seen since November 2022, when the cost of oil shot up in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to state data.

“We have been tracking heating fuel prices for more than a decade, and this level of increase and volatility is historic,” said Dan Burgess, the department’s acting commissioner. “As the most home-heating-oil-reliant state in the country, and with more cold weather in the forecast, these high and volatile prices are being felt directly by Maine people.”

Kerosene prices have also risen significantly in the last few weeks, averaging $6.29 statewide — and $6.81 in Greater Portland — on Monday. Across the state, that marks a more than 30% increase since last month, state data indicates.

The state’s data reflects prices early this week, but heating oil prices can shift daily. And the uncertain future of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has shaken the global crude market, leading to major volatility.

That volatility was on display in Greater Portland, where the average price was actually down to $4.94 Wednesday, according to an analysis of data aggregated by MaineOil.com, which records prices at sellers throughout the state several times each week. Statewide, a gallon of oil averaged $5.07 Wednesday, based on data from 48 retailers aggregated by MaineOil.com.

HELP IS AVAILABLE

Mainers who are struggling to pay their home energy bills can still apply for the Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP. Applications are expected to remain open until late May, and there was no waiting list as of Thursday, the department said.

HEAP helps low- and moderate-income households pay for a portion of their home heating costs.

Meanwhile, applications for the state’s Energy Crisis Intervention Program remain open until April 30.

That program provides one-time payments of up to $500 for households without heat or with less than a week’s supply of fuel. It is open to households that are already eligible for HEAP.

Though assistance is distributed by the state, HEAP is ultimately funded by the federal government, which calls it the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.

Last year, Trump proposed eliminating the program’s federal funding in his fiscal year 2026 budget. Instead, Congress increased the program’s funding, bringing its budget to nearly $4.1 billion, Utility Dive reported. But some of that money remains to be distributed as the heating season winds down.

Earlier this month, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, led a bipartisan group of about 40 senators in calling for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to release the remaining pool of about $400 million.

“With low-income families and seniors feeling additional strains on their household budgets, a timely release of LIHEAP funding is even more critical to ensure families do not need to choose between paying their energy bills and other essentials, like food or medicine,” the senators wrote in their March 12 letter.