MP welcomes watchdog proposals to protect heating oil customers
Nation.Cymru staff
A Plaid Cymru MP has backed calls for stronger protections for households that rely on heating oil, saying off-grid customers have long been left with fewer rights than those connected to the gas and electricity network.
Ceredigion Preseli MP Ben Lake welcomed recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for a new regulatory regime covering the home heating oil market after the watchdog found consumers lacked key protections.
The CMA last week recommended new safeguards for the UK’s 1.5 million heating oil customers, including minimum standards for suppliers, better support for vulnerable households, independent dispute resolution and a review of minimum order sizes. It also announced plans to secure compensation for around 1,700 customers whose orders may have been cancelled in breach of contract during the Middle East fuel crisis.
Mr Lake said the proposals addressed concerns he had previously raised in Parliament about the lack of protections available to heating oil customers.
He said: “I welcome the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to call for a new regulatory regime for heating oil suppliers, and its announcement of a compensation scheme for those households who were impacted by last minute cancelled orders earlier this year.
“The CMA’s recommendations that heating oil suppliers meet minimum standards, signpost available payment plans and minimum purchases, and register vulnerable households will all help to better protect off-grid customers during an energy spike or times of crisis. These recommendations will help heating oil customers, and are to be welcomed, but I will nevertheless be asking for similar steps to be taken to help protect off-grid LPG customers.”
He added: “The conclusions of the CMA’s report will not surprise residents of Ceredigion Preseli. Many saw their regular fuel prices changing at short notice during the Middle East fuel crisis, and I am aware of many cases where the customer was not informed of the price for their delivery until the lorry had arrived at the property.
“Ceredigion Preseli has one of the highest proportions of households that are not connected to the mains gas grid in Great Britain, and as a result the war in the Middle East had a disproportionate effect on the prices residents were forced to pay for their fuel. Indeed, according to the CMA the average price per litre increased by 42p in March of this year, and retail prices rose 92% at their peak, confirming what dozens of constituents had told me.”
Clarity
Mr Lake also called for greater clarity over the compensation scheme announced by the CMA.
He said: “I welcome the announcement that there will be compensation paid to those impacted, but regret that the eligibility and application process remains unclear.
“I have therefore asked for further detail on how customers can ensure that they receive these payments as I am determined that constituents of Ceredigion Preseli receive every penny of compensation that is owed to them.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Get more trusted Welsh news
Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.
Time to roll out solar and heat pumps with decent grants to get people off the oil. The long run will benefit all around. Plaid cannot ignore this.