A Conservative councillor is urging the Government to provide financial support for households in Northumberland that rely on heating oil, as costs continue to rise. Approximately 23,000 homes in the county are not connected to the mains gas supply and use oil systems to stay warm during the winter.
Ongoing conflicts around the world have significantly impacted the cost of fuel for these systems. Unlike gas, prices are not protected by the Ofgem Energy Price Cap, and homeowners have seen huge increases in the cost of filling their tanks.
Councillor calls for immediate help
The Government has announced reforms to the sector to ensure stronger regulation and protections for consumers. However, Conservative cabinet member at Northumberland County Council Guy Renner-Thompson said immediate financial support was needed.
Coun Renner-Thompson said: "Today’s announcement is deeply disappointing. Thousands of families across Northumberland are facing enormous heating bills as we head into winter, yet the Labour Government has offered them no new financial help whatsoever."
He added: "I’ve just paid over £600 for 500 litres of heating oil for my house, a two-bedroom cottage near Bamburgh. That won’t even last me through the winter. If that’s what it costs to heat a small cottage, imagine the bills facing families living in larger, older properties."
Regulation vs. cost relief
Coun Renner-Thompson said regulating heating oil suppliers may be sensible, but it will not make the next delivery any cheaper. He said people need help with their bills now, not promises of regulation at some point in the future.
He noted that the previous Conservative Government recognised the challenges facing off-grid households and provided a £200 Alternative Fuel Payment during the energy crisis. He said Labour has announced no equivalent new payment.
"Today’s announcement does nothing to reduce the cost of filling a tank. Northumberland’s rural communities must not be forgotten," he said.
Government defends reforms
The Government has said households on heating oil will benefit from better protections under plans to regulate the market for the first time. Officials said stronger consumer protection measures will help make sure families who rely on heating oil are treated fairly, especially when global pressures cause prices to rise.
Following the outbreak of conflicts in the Middle East earlier this year, the Government stepped in with £53 million in immediate support to help vulnerable heating oil customers through the crisis.
Minister for Energy Consumers Polly Billington said: "Thousands of heating oil customers felt they had nowhere to turn when they paid the price of rising oil and gas costs earlier this year. We won’t accept that. Energy is an essential good and people should not have to think twice about whether they’re protected in the market."
She added: "That’s why we will reform the sector, holding heating oil suppliers to account and giving consumers confidence that they will get a fair deal."
The CMA later found that 1,700 households were owed compensation after they were forced to re-order heating oil at higher prices when their orders were cancelled by suppliers.
Heating oil customers are also eligible for extra support to get onto homegrown clean energy, after the government increased its discount off the cost of a heat pump to £9,000 for households who use heating oil.
Political response
Responding to Coun Renner-Thompson's comments, Northumberland Labour leader Coun Scott Dickinson said: "Where was his voice when his Government was in for those people on heating oil?"
He added: "Both the previous Prime Minister and the current one have done more to protect those on heating oil than the Conservative Government did in 14 years. It's a bit rich to suggest the Government isn't doing enough when over 1,000 people got remedial payments in August, and £9,000 grants for those households still on oil."
"They have done more for rural Northumbrian households in the last 12 months than happened in the previous 14 years. That's just facts," he said.
