Vermonters Consider Alternative Heat Sources Amid Soaring Fuel Costs

The 250 gallons of heating oil that Nate Thames had delivered to his Vershire home last fall cost him $3.21 per gallon, or about $800.

This August, after heating oil prices spiked to $4.73 per gallon, that same delivery ran him nearly $1,200. Relatively speaking, though, his timing was good: Prices in Vermont just soared past $6 per gallon.

President Donald Trump’s ongoing war with Iran is largely to blame for sky-high fuel prices. The costs of heating oil and kerosene, the main fuel source for about 40 percent of owner-occupied Vermont homes, have risen about 80 percent since the end of 2025.

The increases threaten to inflict significant financial suffering in Vermont, a state with harsh winters and some of the oldest housing stock in the nation. Thames is doing everything he can to cope, including stocking up on more firewood. But he’s worried many of his neighbors lack that option.

“There are going to be a lot of people who are going to be very cold this winter, and people are going to be cutting their food budget so they can keep the heat on,” Thames said.

Lawmakers and Gov. Phil Scott have tried to soften the blow by adding $15.3 million in funding for low-income people who receive fuel heating assistance. Vermonters who are not eligible for relief are taking practical steps to try to insulate themselves from the higher prices.

Many homeowners are doing like Thames: stockpiling backup fuel sources or upgrading their stoves to more efficient models. October was the second-busiest month ever for the Chimney Sweep Fireplace Shop in Shelburne, according to owner Roy L’Esperance.

Those who can afford it are switching to lower-cost, cleaner fuel sources, such as propane and electricity.

And some are getting creative. Thames, for example, has started a “fuel club.” Every week, he calls heating oil and propane dealers in the Upper Valley and posts their most recent prices on a website he started, friendlyfuelclub.com.

The home heating fuel industry isn’t always transparent when it comes to its prices, he said, so he figured his website could help people shop around and save money. Thames found that prices per gallon vary widely — by as much as about $1 as of Tuesday afternoon.

He described the sticker shock of his August fuel bill as a “gut-check” moment in which he realized that the “geopolitical brouhaha” had “come home to roost.”

“I was just like, Somebody should do something about this,” he recalled.

The response has been extremely positive.

Thames is exploring a more formal arrangement that would require members to pay an annual fee to join the club. They’d use their bulk purchasing power to negotiate lower prices. Similar clubs already exist in Vermont, however, so Thames isn’t sure whether such a venture would pencil out.

There are going to be a lot of people who
are going to be very cold this winter.
Nate Thames

For now, he’s using his web development skills to help people in a time of need. Some who have contacted him say they use 1,400 gallons or more of oil each winter.

“For them, saving 20 or 30 cents a gallon, that’s real money,” he said.

Also: Propane, which has gone up just 9 percent in Vermont in the past year, has become a more attractive option. The heating source is a by-product of domestic natural gas and crude oil refining, meaning it isn’t typically affected by international geopolitical disruptions, said Matt Cota, owner of Meadow Hill consulting and director of government affairs for the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association.

That’s prompted more people to make the switch when their oil furnaces or boilers need updating, according to Steve Korrow, general manager of Gillespie Fuels & Propane in Northfield.

The trend has accelerated this year due to the surging price of heating oil, according to Korrow. About 70 percent of oil customers who need furnace upgrades are switching to propane, he said, noting the conversion costs several thousand dollars.

Propane is now the primary heating source for 20 percent of owner-occupied Vermont homes, according to the state’s 2026 Annual Energy Report. Other sources include natural gas at 18 percent, wood at 13 percent and electricity at 7 percent.

Jared Duval is executive director of Energy Action Network, a nonprofit tracking Vermont’s progress toward meeting its climate targets. He said he understands the temptation to switch to a cheaper fossil fuel. But propane has historically been the most expensive heat source when considering the price per unit of heat delivered, he said.

It’s less energy-dense than heating fuel, so you have to burn as much as a third more propane to get the same heat output as oil. The last time propane was a better deal than heating oil was during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“For 13 of the last 16 years, propane has been a more expensive heating fuel than heating oil,” Duval noted.

Most people who choose propane rent their tanks from their supplier, which comes with additional fees and limits their ability to shop around for the lowest prices.

By comparison, natural gas, only available in northwestern Vermont, is the lowest-priced heating source, costing $1,456 for an average-size, well-insulated single-family home each winter. That’s followed by electric heat pumps at $1,919 and wood pellet furnaces at $2,151, according to Duval.

Johanna Miller, the energy and climate program director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council, said she and other advocates have been urging people to transition away from dirty fossil fuels because of their impact on the climate as well as the volatility of prices.

“This pain, unfortunately, was predictable,” she said.

It would be a “missed opportunity” if Vermonters and their leaders didn’t respond to high prices by finding ways to transition quickly, she said. That would help Vermonters save money, create good-paying jobs and give the state an economic shot in the arm, she said.

Over the past decade, Vermonters have installed more than 100,000 residential heat pumps, according to the state Department of Public Service. Organizations such as Efficiency Vermont have encouraged people to weatherize their homes to save hundreds in heating costs. They offer rebates to help homeowners add extra insulation to attics; seal air gaps around ducts, windows, doors and foundations; and upgrade to more efficient electric and wood-heat options.

Service organizations such as Capstone Community Action in Barre are already getting more calls for help from low-income clients.

“We’re going to be swamped this winter,” said Susan Rossi, the group’s energy and outreach manager. “We’ve already started to be.”

The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program aids households that make $61,000 or less for a family of four, while the state’s income limit for emergency help is slightly higher. Those who make more than that will feel the pinch, Rossi said.

“We’re looking at deliveries that cost $800 dollars for 120 gallons,” she said. “That’s not even half a tank.”

Rossi thinks the state’s decision merely to boost aid for needy people may not be enough this year. She wants lawmakers to make assistance more widely available given how many other cost pressures — food, gasoline, housing — people are under.

“I’m worried that even people who are above the income threshold will go cold this year,” she said. ➆

The original print version of this article was headlined “The Big Chill | How Vermonters are trying to insulate themselves from soaring heating oil prices and stay warm this winter”