Heating oil customers face tough winter despite shake-up promise

Heating oil customers are facing high costs and uncertainty despite government promises to regulate the sector better. The government will review minimum order levels, promote competition, and establish clearer compensation routes if customers encounter issues. Prices have nearly doubled in the past year, prompting calls for heating oil customers to receive the same caps as other utilities.

However, the government has not proposed such a change. Energy minister Polly Billington acknowledged that thousands of heating oil customers were left powerless by soaring energy prices earlier this year and vowed to reform the market. Nick, a heating oil user from West Suffolk, highlighted the lack of protection for off-grid households and called for tax cuts or a price cap extension for heating oil.

Currently, 1.5 million households rely on heating oil, but they lack the same consumer protections as those for electricity and gas. Ofgem, the energy regulator, only oversees England, Wales, and Scotland, leaving Northern Ireland without the same protections.