Municipalities statewide are preparing for another Maine winter, but one thing that isn’t worrying many public works crews is fuel prices, despite the soaring cost of crude oil driven by the U.S. war with Iran.

On Friday, many public works crews were closed for the weekend, especially amid the news that a major storm will remain at sea.

Many departments have their snowplows ready, however, and throughout York County stockpiles of sand and salt were clearly visible on Friday.

Americans have been concerned about the price of oil ever since the war began in February, leading to restrictions on vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.  

A record high price for heating oil of $6.05 a gallon earlier this month caused alarm among those seeking heating assistance, and other fuel prices have also gone up. According to AAA, today’s statewide average price per gallon of diesel fuel stood at $6.2450. That’s a nearly 60% increase over the $3.9061 price recorded at this time last year.

However, the higher diesel prices may not translate into higher costs for road maintenance throughout the winter. In York County, small towns such as Acton, Lebanon and Alfred do not have their own public works departments. Acton Town Administrator Jennifer Roux said her town pays a third-party company to clear and maintain roads in town during bad weather.

Roux said right now, Acton is in the middle of a three-year contract with that provider, and that the contract was negotiated long before the war with Iran started. That means, she said, no matter what the fuel prices are now, the town’s rates remain the same.

“Our prices are locked in,” she said. 

That goes for fuel purchases, too. Saco City Spokesperson Andrew Dickinson said that city’s public works department buys diesel fuel for its trucks on contract, too. As of now, he said, the city’s contract lasts until September 2027. 

Like Acton, Saco’s contract was put in place before the war began. As of today, Dickinson said, the city pays $2.5750 a gallon for diesel, no matter what the current rates are. 

“The direct cost of diesel fuel for Saco is locked in at that rate,” he said.