A Governor Mills Supporter Sports A T-Shirt Made Famous by Her Immortal Words to President Trump: “See you in Court. ” The T-ees are Available at Little Chair Printing, Congress Street, Portland. All Proceeds from the Sale Go to Charity. As of a Month Ago, over 1,200 T’s Had Been Sold.
Governor Janet T. Mills (D-ME) today announced that the share of Maine households reliant on oil as their primary heat source has fallen by nearly 20 percent from 2018 to 2024, a testament to the state’s recent adoption of high efficiency heat pumps.
In 2024, the portion of Maine households reliant on heating oil fell to 50 percent, the lowest in decades according to new federal data. This is down from 62 percent in 2018 and over 70 percent in 2010, continuing a historic downward trend strongly correlated with an increase in the use of high efficiency heat pumps for home heating — a direct result of the Mills Administration’s efforts to expand access to the technology.
“Since I took office, Maine’s reliance on heating oil has dropped signiticantly thanks to our nation-leading work to promote cost saving measures, including programs focused on high efficiency heat pumps,” said Governor Mills. “This progress is making a real difference for Maine people and businesses, improving their energy efficiency and cutting energy costs.”
Maine set statutory goals in 2011 to cut oil consumption by 30 percent from 2007 levels by 2030 and at least 50 percent by 2050. The state has already surpassed the 2030 target and is on track to meet the 2050 goal.
Maine remains the most heating fuel reliance state in the nation and spends more than $4 billion on imported petroleum annually. A recent study commissioned by the Maine Office of the Public Advocate, with the Maine Electric Ratepayer Advisory Council, found low-income households in Maine are particularly reliant on oil for heat and spend about twice as much of their total household budget on energy as those that use electicity.
Heat pumps remain more cost effective and less volatile than heating oil and Maine has received national recognition for its leadership in heat pump adoption. In July 2023, Maine surprassed its goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps two years early. Governor Mills then set an ambitious new target of installing another 175,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2027. When the new goal is reached, the number of heat pumps installed in Maine homes, businesses and public buildings during the Governor’s time in office would reach 275,000.