Heating oil reached a statewide average price of $1.99 per gallon this week. That’s up 29 cents this month alone and 69 cents higher than a year ago.

Some dealers in central Maine were offering No. 2 for as much as $2.08 per gallon.

Kerosene was even higher. It averages $2.26 per gallon, with a high of $2.33 being charged in northern Maine. The numbers come from a state survey of oil dealers that’s conducted weekly.

Soaring energy costs have people in Maine’s government scrambling as they attempt to avert a potentially life-threatening crisis. Meetings that began in the summer as climbing gasoline prices hinted at a worsening winter situation are being stepped up, said Beth Nagusky. She’s the director of Maine’s Office of Energy Independence and Security.

“We’re getting ready for a worst-case scenario,” Nagusky said.

Among steps being taken on the state level: Emergency shelters are being lined up to provide a place where people can go should their homes lack heat.

She said she fears that some people may be forced out of their homes because they won’t be able to afford oil.

She also fears tragic consequences could result if people can’t find a way to keep warm.

“Don’t think that I haven’t have nightmares,” she said.

Nagusky said Gov. John Baldacci has written to federal officials calling on them to increase the amount of money being made available for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Due to an increase in the number of people applying for LIHEAP assistance, the benefit is expected to drop this winter from $440 to $410. At today’s prices, that’s not enough to fill a 250-gallon tank with No. 2 once, let alone covering the season’s needs.

And with the rising prices, to purchase the same amount of oil this winter that the $440 benefit bought last year,

Nagusky said the LIHEAP assistance would have total about $700.

Nagusky said that for planning purposes, Maine expects 60,000 LIHEAP applicants. The state helped 46,000 families through the program last year.

Congress is due to vote on LIHEAP funding in November after it returns from the election season recess. The recommended appropriation facing members: $2 billion, up $100 million from the $1.9 billion available in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Families that qualify for LIHEAP are among Maine’s poorest people. Last year, the state’s average LIHEAP applicant had an annual income of $11,000, said Nagusky.

The Maine State Housing Authority administers LIHEAP. People apply for benefits through county and community action programs.

Judy Frost, who manages the program in Franklin County, said that like Nagusky, she fears that many of the 2,100 families served last year will quickly exhaust their benefits this year.

“I have serious concerns,” Frost said. She suspects that some people will be forced from their cold homes to take shelter with friends or family, or in some instances, turn to town governments for help.

In Franklin County, the maximum fuel assistance benefit available to qualifying people is $560, Frost said. Another $200 could be available in emergency aid, but the emergency funding is quite limited.

“With kerosene at $2.35, the most someone could get is about 325 gallons,” said Frost. “That’s barely over a tank full.”

And “There’s another whole population that won’t qualify (for LIHEAP) that is going to take a hit,” Nagusky pointed out.

Middle-income people also will feel the price pinch, she predicted.

The State Planning Office has estimated that the average Mainer will burn about 1,000 gallons of No. 2 during a typical winter for heating purposes. With oil selling at 69 cents more per gallon this year than last, that means the typical bill will be $690 more this winter than last. And that would be if prices rise no further than they already have.

About 80 percent of Maine’s homes are heated by oil; the rest rely primarily on kerosene, propane, wood and natural gas.

Nagusky encouraged people to visit the state’s energy Web site, where they’ll find tips on insulating their homes and having their furnaces cleaned. The site also lists people who do home energy audits and recommend ways to improve fuel efficiency.

“With prices as high as they are,” she said, “each dollar spent on weatherization could save $3 on heating costs.”

While heating oil prices have never been higher in Maine in terms of actual dollars, they’re not at a record level, said Nagusky. In 1980, after Iranians overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979, prices spiked over fears of an Arab oil embargo.

Nagusky said the price in Maine for No. 2 reached $1.38 per gallon on average in 1980. Adjusted for inflation to today’s dollar, she said that price would be $2.78 per gallon.

This year’s soaring oil prices are linked to growing global demand coupled with short supplies of crude oil.