Our national and state energy policies are placing Mainers in physical harm, according to a recent census survey. The Bangor Daily News reported that “around 8.3% of Maine households responded to a recent survey by saying that they had kept homes at a temperature that felt unsafe or unhealthy almost every month over the past year. That represents close to a 100,000 people.”

Maine is by far the most dependent on home heating oil in the nation, with nearly 60% of Mainers reliant on oil to heat their homes. Maine’s reliance on home heating fuel shadows the U.S. average with only 4% of the nation dependent on oil for heat.

Despite recognizing that Maine is overly-dependent on the cost of oil to heat our homes, the Mills’ Administration enthusiastically led the effort to choke off investments in oil and gas production in the United States. Governor Janet Mills signed LD 99 into law, directing the Maine Public Employees Retirement System to divest from all fossil fuel investments within five years. The new law also applied to Maine’s State Cash Pool.

This move came in spite of Anthony Ronzio, deputy director of the Governor’s Office on Policy Innovation and the Future, noting that Maine is extremely vulnerable to energy markets. Said Ronzio, “Maine is the most heating oil-dependent state in the nation and our electric grid is over-reliant on natural gas. Plus, Maine spends over $4 billion annually to import fossil fuels to the state.”

The squeeze on domestic energy production is having a dramatic effect on the cost of oil. Charlie Summers, president and chief executive officer of the Maine Energy Marketers Association, noted that “the capacity in the U.S. today is down significantly. In the 1970s, the U.S. had 16 to 18 oil refineries. Today, the U.S. has about 7 refineries.”

The efforts by our state and national leaders to choke off the supply of home heating oil is producing a dangerous situation for too many Mainers this winter who will struggle to heat their homes. MPBP calls on our leaders to immediately reverse their positions on choking off investments in oil and gas production so we can lower the cost of home heating oil and safeguard Mainers during the cold winter months ahead of us.