Gov. Janet Mills wrote to Maine’s congressional delegation Friday demanding more money from the federal government for heating assistance, a measure that she said is necessary to “ensure the safety and comfort of Maine people” amid record high heating oil prices.

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) currently provides about $40 million in assistance to qualifying households in Maine. Those funds are usually sent out in late November and applications are now open.

The governor’s request came as heating oil prices hit a record high in Maine last week, averaging $6.02 per gallon, the Department of Energy Resources said. This week, prices dropped slightly, to $5.96 per gallon — still above the previous record of $5.92 set in 2022.

Those prices were driven in large part by the continued constriction of the Strait of Hormuz, which, prior to the start of the war in Iran, carried about a quarter of the world’s oil shipments.

In her letter, Mills placed blame on President Donald Trump.

“Maine people should not be forced to choose between staying warm and putting food on the table because the president chose to drag the country into a needless war,” she wrote.

Prices that high demand an additional congressional allocation to the LIHEAP program, Mills said. Maine, as the state most reliant on heating oil, could be particularly hard-hit if LIHEAP funds aren’t increased, she said.

She encouraged Mainers to apply for LIHEAP funding as soon as possible. Applications and income limits can be found on MaineHousing’s website.

“Federal funding levels appropriated for LIHEAP this winter did not fully consider the drastic impacts of the president’s war that has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and are now insufficient for the circumstances that Maine and other cold-climate states now face,” Mills said.

Meanwhile, the Group of Seven wealthy democracies said Friday that they plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with “substantial” amounts of diesel after the fuel also recently hit record high prices in the U.S.

Gas prices in the U.S. and abroad have soared during the eight-month war, a cost Trump has repeatedly said is worth it for making sure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. The national average for a gallon of diesel in the U.S. was $6.37 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on Sept. 22. Maine diesel prices averaged $6.47.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, lauded the G7 announcement Friday. She said the release should put “immediate downward pressure on energy prices and helping to lower the cost of producing and transporting goods.”

This story contains reporting from The Associated Press.