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energy

Connecticut heating oil prices climb 86% from a year ago

Connecticut households that heat with oil are facing sharply higher costs as winter approaches.

The statewide average price was $5.91 a gallon on Sept. 21, compared with $3.18 during the same week last year, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. That is an increase of about 86%.

At those averages, a 200-gallon delivery would cost about $1,182, compared with $636 a year ago — roughly $548 more.

The amount a household pays depends on its supplier, delivery size and payment terms.
Prices advertised by Litchfield County suppliers over the weekend were somewhat lower than the state survey average.

HomeHeat, a service that tracks advertised cash-on-delivery prices, listed an average of $5.69 a gallon among 17 county suppliers on Sept. 27.

Its listed prices ranged from $5.30 to $6 a gallon

The rise in heating oil prices comes alongside a surge in diesel prices stemming from the conflict with Iran.

The two fuels are closely related and face many of the same pressures on supply and price.

Connecticut’s average diesel price reached a record high last week, according to AAA figures. The price was $6.49 a gallon.

Heating oil was high at the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022. DEEP recorded a statewide average of $6.37 a gallon in May 2022.

For low income residents, applications are now open for the 2026-27 Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, which helps eligible residents pay their home heating costs Details are at CT.gov.

Christian Murray
Executive Editor

Christian Murray is executive editor of The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News. A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, he is a veteran journalist, founding the Queens Post and its network of neighborhood news sites—including the Sunnyside Post, Astoria Post, LIC Post and Jackson Heights Post—and helping pioneer hyperlocal digital journalism in New York City. Before joining LJMN in 2025, he served as managing editor at Schneps Media, overseeing amNewYork, the Queens Courier, the Bronx Times and other local publications. Earlier in his career, Murray was a political reporter for Newsday and a business reporter for Reuters. A native of New Zealand, he says northwest Connecticut reminds him of the landscapes where he grew up—a connection that made the region feel like home from the start.

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