By Doug Fletcher,Staff Writer

Whether it’s the much ballyhooed global warming or merely a temporary abnormality, Maine’s moderate winter is making some people happy.

It’s also helping them keep their checking account in the black.

There’s no question that this year has been different. As of Monday, temperatures were running 8.7 degrees above January’s 20.2 degree daily average.

While skiers and snowmobilers might lament the lofty readings and resulting lack of snow, anyone watching the heating oil gauge isn’t complaining.

“We’ve certainly been lucky with the weather, so far,” said Beth Nagusky.

Nagusky is the director of the state’s Office of Energy Independence and Security. The comparatively warm winter, she says, has “helped to keep prices stable.”

As of Monday, those prices include a statewide average of $2.39 per gallon for No. 2 heating fuel oil and a $2.77 state average for kerosene.

In a year of soaring energy costs, those prices aren’t cheap by any measure: No. 2 is up 49 cents from a year ago and kerosene cost 60 cents more than it did 12 months ago. But the prices have been holding within several cents of those figures for well over a month now. Even near record crude oil prices haven’t caused the types of price spikes seen in previous years.

Nagusky says that’s largely because the weather has been cooperating.

Jamie Py agrees.

He’s the president of the Maine Oil Dealers Association, a lobbying group that represents the interests of most of the state’s oil and gasoline service station dealers.

Fuel consumption is down, Py says, and that’s directly related to warmer-than-usual temperatures.

The winter of 2005-06, may go down as “one of the lowest-use years in the past 10 years,” Py said Monday.

He estimated that consumption of heating stocks – things like No. 2 oil, kerosene and propane – is running at “10 to 15 percent below normal.”

Because use is down, the inventory of the fuels has been building. Eventually, that could result in lower prices as supply-and-demand economics kick in.

Py said that if the weather continues to remain moderate, and if there are no geopolitical monkey wrenches tossed into the world oil market by places like Nigeria or Iraq, people might actually see heating fuel prices start falling later in February.

That’s something that’s practically unheard of in a Maine winter.

But it could happen.

James Brown, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, said the 10-day forecast sees moderate temperatures continuing right into the first third of February.

“It may not be as warm as it has been, but it appears temperatures will remain higher than normal,” he said Monday morning.

Nagusky will take it. The longer temps stay up, the warmer Mainers are, she noted. That’s particularly important to Maine’s poor.

“We dodged a bullet with the warmer January,” Nagusky said, but, she added, “winter isn’t over yet.”