Overview
- The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal seeks to sell a million barrels of ultra-low sulfur diesel from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
- Proceeds are earmarked for U.S. deficit reduction, with the Department of Energy estimating $100 million in revenue and potential savings from closing the facility.
- The reserve was established in 2000 under President Clinton to cover about 10 days of regional heating oil needs but has been tapped only once during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
- Congress must authorize the sale and closure of the reserve, following a precedent when lawmakers approved a similar emergency gasoline stockpile sale last year.
- Former President Biden had proposed expanding the heating oil reserve in November 2022 to guard against price spikes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.