Long Island heating oil prices hit $6.24 a gallon, 62% higher than this time last year

With winter just around the corner, home heating oil prices are through the roof, hitting an average $6.24 a gallon on Long Island last week, a 62.3% increase from this time last year, according to state figures.

The record high prices could mean misery for the nearly 400,000 of Long Islanders who heat their homes with oil, observers say.

The average $6.24 a gallon last week topped a similar recent high the week before at $5.84. It’s also a far cry from the price a year ago of $3.84.

And the prices are jumping even before the winter heating season is in full swing, when high demand can also send prices soaring during extreme cold streaks.

Average prices also have shot up across the state: $6.43 a gallon in New York City, $6.26 in Westchester and an average of $6.14 statewide, according to a state database.

Home heating oil prices have topped $6 before, including in March, while still in the heating season. They also topped $6 in February 2025. But hitting a recent high before the heating season kicks off is unusual.

Gene Bernstein, chairman of Northville Industries, a Melville-based petroleum distributor, said the trend suggests prices could continue high for the foreseeable future.

"I don’t see anything short term that will bring prices down," Bernstein said.

Oil prices increases were staved off in recent months because countries relied on reserves to meet demand as the war in Iran and its impacts reverberated.

"But prices are high now and they’re not going to go down because countries that drew down reserves are running low, and the shortage is still there," he added.

People who heat their homes with natural gas — some 600,000 Long Islanders — are at a decided advantage now. Gas from National Grid, the region’s biggest supplier, fell in September to its lowest point all year, at 47.67 cents a therm, according to the company. It had reached as high as 96.5 cents a therm in March, but has fallen steadily since.

Electric customers haven’t been so fortunate.

The power supply charge from PSEG Long Island, which also climbed more than 30% earlier this year when the war began, jumped 20% this month compared with August, after falling slightly through the summer, according to PSEG’s data. The charge for September was 13.98 cents a kilowatt hour. The September figure also represents a 7.4% increase from September 2025’s power supply charge.

Long Island customers who rely on heating oil worry about the prospect of costs going even higher.

"It’s crazy and all of us are going to have to pay for that," said Jim Taylor, of East Northport, noting natural gas isn’t in his area so he can’t convert.

But Taylor does have more options than most. Last November he locked in a one-year contract price for heating oil at $3.09.

His only concern: With prices so much higher, he’s worried if his supplier will honor it.

Either way, after November, Taylor knows he’ll be subject to the new prices, wherever they land.

"At the end of the day we need oil to heat the house," the 73-year-old retiree said. "Depending upon your living style, it could really, really hurt, especially with everything else going up."

Consumer advocacy groups are already preparing for the impacts.

The Public Utility Law Project is "very concerned about what these prices could mean for households that rely on heating oil, especially for those already behind on their electric bill and others living on fixed- or limited-incomes," policy manager Ian Donaldson said in an email. 

He noted energy utility debt remains "very high going into the winter," with more than a million households across the state 60 days or more late in paying their gas and electric bills, a combined $1.9 billion owed.

"Heating oil customers can be particularly vulnerable because they often have to absorb the costs of a fuel delivery all at once," he said. "And unlike customers of regulated electric and natural gas utilities, they also do not have the same set of state consumer protections if they cannot afford to pay." 

With fuel oil over $6 a gallon, the bill for an oil delivery of 100 gallons is up $250 or more, Donaldson noted.

"For a household already struggling to meet basic expenses, an increase of that magnitude can force very difficult choices between heating the home and paying for food, medications, housing and other necessities," he said.

A federal program known as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, will be "especially important this winter," Donaldson said.

But uncertainties about LIHEAP funding, eligibility and program start dates abound, largely because of a late start last year after the federal government shut down. 

With LIHEAP "still weeks away from opening in November," Kristen McManus, AARP's director of government affairs and advocacy, said the state "may need to provide stopgap funding to ensure struggling families are not left without help during this critical period as cold weather is upon us."

McManus in an email added, "Anyone worried about losing utility service should immediately contact their local Department of Social Services to find out whether emergency assistance is available."

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.