For households that heat with oil, the useful number is what it costs to fill the tank. The Trump administration’s latest answer is to borrow from a tank the government filled earlier.

Reuters reports that the administration will offer loans of up to 315,000 barrels from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, with deliveries due to be completed by November 13. Senators from both parties had urged a release as war-driven fuel costs rose. About a third of New England homes use heating oil; in Maine, about half do. Emergency supplies have a practical audience larger than a campaign audience.

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The oil will go through competitive bids by retailers and terminal holders. A household does not receive a barrel or a guaranteed lower bill when the announcement is made. The aim is that more available fuel will ease the price. That is a reason to use a reserve, and also a reason not to confuse the press release with a delivery truck.

The administration has already agreed to loan 172 million barrels of crude from a separate reserve, whose stocks are at their lowest since 1982. Now the heating reserve gets its turn. The country’s emergency planning is proving useful. Its planners had the foresight to store fuel before the current administration needed to announce that it was finding some.