Maine's Department of Energy Resources put statewide heating oil at $5.97 a gallon in its October 13, 2026 survey. Its survey from October 14, 2025 had it at $3.31. That's an increase of roughly 80% in a year. If you're buying a home in Greater Bangor this fall, that price lands in two places the listing price doesn't show. One is a line in the purchase agreement. The other is a line in the seller's property disclosure.
The oil left in the tank is now a real closing number
The standard Maine Association of REALTORS® Purchase and Sale Agreement covers leftover fuel in its "Fuel/Utilities/Prorations" paragraph. The 2025 version of the form gives the parties a "shall" or "shall not" box next to this sentence:
"Buyer shall/shall not pay Seller at closing for all fuel in any tanks remaining on the property calculated as of the closing date or such earlier date as required to comply with lender requirements, if any. The amount owed, if any, shall be determined using the most recently available cash price of the company that last delivered the fuel."
The price in that clause matters. It isn't what the seller paid when the tank was filled. It's the most recent cash price from the dealer who last delivered. So oil a seller bought last spring gets valued at this fall's price when the house closes.
To put the shift in numbers, use the statewide averages. Every 100 gallons left in the tank was worth about $331 at the October 2025 average and about $597 at the October 13, 2026 average. The actual figure at your closing comes from the delivering company's price, not the state average. Either way, the direction is clear: a payment buyers used to treat as a rounding error now affects how much cash they need to close. Maine's Real Estate Commission includes "proration of fuel (oil, propane, wood)" on its list of items agents should go over with buyers and sellers before closing. At these prices, that conversation should happen at the offer stage.
The disclosure counts gallons, and gallons cost a lot more now
Maine law requires sellers to give buyers "detailed information on the system or source used to supply heat to the property." Under 33 M.R.S. §173, that includes:
- the type and age of the heating system or source
- the company that services it and the date of the most recent service call
- "the annual fuel consumption per heating system or source"
- any malfunctions in the past two years
- the date of the most recent chimney and vent inspection
The Maine Association of REALTORS® disclosure form asks for annual consumption in units like gallons, kWh, or cords. A gallon count is accurate, but it doesn't carry a price. A seller who wrote down last winter's usage reported it correctly. The dollar cost of that same usage is what changed.
Here's how the main delivered fuels moved between the two October surveys:
| Fuel | Oct. 14, 2025 statewide avg. | Oct. 13, 2026 statewide avg. | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heating oil, per gallon | $3.31 | $5.97 | about +80% |
| Kerosene, per gallon | $4.19 | $6.92 | about +65% |
| Propane, per gallon | $3.13 | $3.43 | about +10% |
Take an example disclosure that reports 800 gallons of oil a year. At the October 2025 average, that's about $2,650 for the year. At the October 13, 2026 average, it's about $4,780. That's a gap of more than $2,100 a year from one line on a form, and it doesn't touch the mortgage, taxes, or insurance.
Now look at the propane row. Propane rose about 10% while oil rose about 80%. Two Greater Bangor homes with the same asking price, one heated with oil and one with propane, were much closer in operating cost a year ago than they are this fall. The price on the listing hasn't caught up to that gap.
The department notes that these are spot cash prices, not pre-buy or discounted prices. Its propane average assumes at least 900 gallons a year, and households that use propane only for cooking or hot water usually pay more per gallon.
Why the price is likely to stay high this winter
University of Maine economist Jonathan Rubin told the Bangor Daily News that the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have kept refined products from leaving the Persian Gulf. He also said Ukrainian attacks have cut Russian energy exports, and that new refining capacity elsewhere could take "months if not longer" to come online.
The same report quoted Acting Energy Commissioner Celina Cunningham. She said Maine has no petroleum production and no refinery, and that about half of Maine households heat with fuel oil, the highest share in the country.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Winter Fuels Outlook, published October 6, 2026, says lower global refining has reduced distillate production and left U.S. stocks low going into winter. It forecasts national household spending on heating oil up 21% to $2,115 this winter, even though it assumes a warmer Northeast than last year. For propane in the Northeast, it expects spending to fall 15%. Those forecasts point in opposite directions, and they match the gap in the table above.
Comparing two houses by the cost of the heat they deliver
A gallon of oil, a gallon of propane, and a kilowatt-hour aren't the same amount of heat, so comparing price per unit doesn't tell you much. The Department of Energy Resources converts each fuel to dollars per million Btu. As of October 13, 2026, its figures were:
- Cordwood: $16.14
- Wood pellets: $21.64
- Air-source heat pump: $28.72 to $31.36
- Propane: $37.49
- Heating oil: $42.95
- Kerosene: $51.26
- Electric baseboard: $83.82 to $91.74
The heat pump and baseboard numbers already account for how efficiently each system turns electricity into heat. The fuel figures don't. The department notes that buyers also need to factor in the efficiency of the specific boiler or furnace. This is where the rest of the disclosure helps. The system's age, its last service date, any malfunctions in the past two years, and the date of the last chimney inspection tell you whether the gallon figure came from a well-tuned system or one that's near the end of its life.
The electric figures come with a timing caveat. They use Versant and CMP rates as of July 1, 2026. The Versant Bangor Hydro District residential standard-offer supply rate is 12.954 cents per kWh for 2026, up from 10.5628 cents in 2025. As of mid-October, the Maine Public Utilities Commission's procurement page hadn't posted a January 2027 price. It showed that indicative bids were due October 9 and final-bid dates were still unset. A heat pump home's advantage could shrink or grow in January.
For buyers who plan to convert a house after closing, two things changed. Efficiency Maine lists whole-home ducted heat pump rebates of $9,000 for low-income households, $6,000 for moderate-income households, and $3,000 at any income level. It also offers an extra $500 per housing unit for eligible whole-home projects completed and claimed March 1 through December 31, 2026. Eligibility depends on the heat pump being the primary heating system, and multi-zone and dual-fuel setups don't qualify. On the federal side, the IRS says the Section 25C credit doesn't apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2025. A conversion budget built on 2025 incentives is missing that piece.
Check propane homes for one more thing. The disclosure form has a separate field for equipment that's leased or not owned, and it lists propane tanks as an example. Under Maine law, only the tank's owner, or someone the owner authorizes in writing, may fill it. A leased tank comes with a relationship with the supplier.
When the bill is already here
For current owners in Penobscot County, Penquis runs the federally funded Home Energy Assistance Program. It pays a one-time seasonal benefit directly to the heating vendor, and Bangor appointments are booked at 207-973-3500. Maine Morning Star reported on October 9 that federal officials would release $36,675,395 in LIHEAP funds for Maine.
This post is general information about Maine forms, rules, and programs, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Please confirm how any of it applies to your purchase with your attorney, lender, or tax professional.
When you're comparing homes this winter, I'll convert each disclosure's gallons into a dollar estimate, read the heating system's age and service history the way a project manager would, and work out the fuel-in-tank figure before you write an offer, not at the closing table. Stop Dreaming. Start Doing. Schedule a consultation with James Spear.
