Good news for households ahead of Fuel Poverty Awareness Day as heating oil prices fall again

An average three bedroom home on oil is now paying just £731 a year, less than half the cost of LPG (£1,503) and electricity (£1,600) and nearly £300 less than mains gas, according to a new report*.

The good news is particularly timely coming just ahead of Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, a national campaign highlighting the growing number of people who struggle to pay their fuel bills.

Yet despite this huge drop in the price of heating oil there are still an estimated 4.5 million households in the UK living in fuel poverty, typically in rural areas where homes are older and harder to heat.

Malcolm Farrow, from OFTEC, the UK trade body for oil heating, commented: “Whilst the 10% fall in the price of heating oil since the start of the year has provided a welcome respite for some households, there are still too many people having to choose between paying for food and keeping warm.”

A recent survey by the National Energy Action (NEA) charity also highlighted concerns over the lack of government support available for fuel poor households, with 93% saying there were insufficient resources available to help.

In response to the findings, OFTEC continues to call for the introduction of a boiler scrappage scheme to help households upgrade outdated, standard efficiency boilers to modern condensing models – a move which could save them a further 23% a year on fuel bills and also reduce carbon emissions by a similar amount.

Malcolm added: “As part of this year’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day we are calling on the government to expand the new boiler scrappage scheme recently launched in London across the whole of the country so rural households can enjoy the same savings from installing a modern condensing boiler as their urban counterparts.”

For further information and advice visit the Oilsave website.

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*Sutherland Comparative Domestic Heating Costs Tables, January 2015