Some 7.3 million residents in the Northeast used home heating oil this winter, estimated the Energy Information Administration. In Connecticut, as of Feb. 21, heating oil was retailing for $3.78 a gallon – up 90 cents a gallon over last year – according to the state’s survey of prices.
A typical fill-up, which happens about three times per winter, takes 185 gallons, according to the National Oil Heat Research Alliance in Washington. With oil at $100 a barrel, each fill-up costs $166.50 more than last year.
“Thank goodness the home heating season is almost over,” says Neil Gamson, an energy analyst at the EIA in Washington.
