Average statewide prices for home heating oil have fallen 22 cents from their late-January peak, to $2.73 a gallon, Maine’s energy office found in its weekly survey on Tuesday, while average propane prices remain steady at $2.82.
The changes reflect warmer weather following January’s extreme cold spell and a decline in global crude oil prices, the office said. Propane prices, in contrast, have been kept up by exports tied to a jump in domestic oil and gas production.
Data from the energy office show average heating oil prices peaked at $2.95 a gallon during the weeks of Jan. 22 and 29. Kerosene prices also were at their highest point on Jan. 29, at $3.57.
Propane prices have fluctuated within a few cents since Jan. 16.
A heating-fuels analysis by the office shows that cord wood remains the least-expensive fuel ($250 per cord), followed by natural gas ($1.69 per therm), wood pellets ($260 per ton) and oil ($2.96 per gallon). Kerosene ($3.57 per gallon), propane ($2.82 per gallon) and baseboard electricity (14-17.5 cents per kwh) are the most costly. These rankings don’t account for the efficiency of the heating system, the office noted.
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