We are receiving a high volume of enquiries regarding the Government financial support for users of heating oil to fuel their homes. This email contains the latest information which we believe is key to note ahead of the busy winter period.
The Government and the UK & Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) are working together to provide the £200 support towards the rising cost of living as announced in the recent Autumn Statement. We understand this is due to be paid via electricity companies and those without a domestic electricity contract will be covered by alternative funding, to be announced by the Government in due course.
Please see their latest statement below:
We welcome the increased support to £200 for heating oil customers this winter. As previously noted, we have spent the last few months working with the government on how the payment can be made to domestic heating oil users.
There is still some work to complete on the logistics of the payment. Therefore, we strongly advise customers to purchase their heating oil as usual ahead of winter. The best and most economical approach is to talk to local distributors on a regular basis and not leave purchases to the last minute.
Given the highly competitive nature of the heating oil market, many users hold active accounts with multiple heating oil distributors making a fixed payment challenging to deliver without duplication. UKIFDA’s understanding is that the majority of the payments will be made automatically with the timing to be announced.
We will continue to assist government in ensuring our members’ customers receive their payments as quickly as possible.
We have also received a number of enquiries about what prices are expected to do in the near future. We are soon to hit the peak winter period where demand is higher due to the colder weather and typically prices rise as we get closer to Christmas (yes, it really is that time of year already)! Therefore, if you haven’t topped up your tank yet, we would recommend now is the best time to place an order and beat the rush.
