Home heating oil prices: Need for ‘speed’ to improve ‘ridiculous’ £100 subsidy, says DUP MP

Having fallen for three consecutive weeks the price of home heating oil appears to be on the rise again, according to the latest figures published by the Northern Ireland Consumer Council.

The latest weekly 'price checker' figures show that the cost of 900 litres has gone up from £864.41 to £873.31 in the past week.

The cost of 900 litres had been around £720 two months ago, and before the Ukraine war it had been around just over £550.

The government has announced a series of measures designed to shield households from sky-high energy prices as Europe scrambles to replace its oil and gas imports from Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Perhaps the most significant measure announced so far for Northern Ireland households has been the promise of a cap on the prices energy companies can charge for electricity and gas.

The energy price cap, which would limit average household electricity and gas bills to around £2,500 combined per year depending on consumption, has already come into effect in England but is not due to make a material difference to bills here until next month.

The government has promised, however, that it will be backdated to the beginning of this month to ensure fair treatment across the UK nations.

But with more than two-thirds of households here not connected to the gas network, concerns have been raised that those relying on oil to heat their homes will miss out.

The government has promised a £100 discount for home heating oil users, but the detail on how or when has been limited to date.

There has been some suggestion, following lobbying efforts from Northern Ireland MPs and from those in areas of Wales and England where families also tend to rely on oil to heat their homes, that the support on offer could be increased.

Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart told the News Letter: “Whilst there are households across the UK that depend upon oil heating, it is nowhere near the 70% of homes heated by oil here in Northern Ireland.

"It is only Westminster that has the scale of resources to take meaningful action, and there has been much-needed help advanced across all parts of the UK. However, to believe that £100 can meet the additional costs of oil is ridiculous."

She added: "We appreciate there is a need for the Government to move at speed in delivering such schemes, but ultimately they must also provide real and effective help to people who are struggling. I will continue to lobby Ministers to step up this payment to a realistic level and ultimately to one which matches the scale of help given to customers in other parts of the UK who use different forms of heating.”

While home heating oil prices have risen in the past week, it is a different picture for other types of fuel.

The latest Consumer Council survey shows that petrol is down to 159.5p from 160.6p the week before, while diesel was relatively unchanged – sitting at 176.8p from 176.7p last week.