Welsh Lib Dems call for heating oil price cap ahead of winter

Nation.Cymru Staff

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called for an immediate cap on heating oil prices, warning that plans to strengthen regulation will not help rural families already struggling with rising bills.

David Chadwick, MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, said the UK Government’s proposed reforms were “too little, too late” for households without access to mains gas.

The government has accepted a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recommendation to strengthen regulation of the heating oil sector, following concerns over suppliers cancelling orders when prices rose earlier this year.

The CMA found that 1,700 households were owed compensation after being forced to reorder heating oil at higher prices.

Ministers now plan to develop a regulatory framework covering supplier standards, protections for vulnerable customers and clearer routes to compensation.

Mr Chadwick, the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ Westminster spokesperson, said: “Tackling rogue suppliers is the bare minimum. It does nothing to help rural families who are already in fuel poverty and seeing their bills skyrocket through no fault of their own.”

He added: “Ministers cannot keep treating off-grid communities like an afterthought. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have fought relentlessly for fair treatment for heating oil customers – the Government must listen, stop dragging its feet, and urgently introduce a heating oil price cap before another winter of soaring bills unfolds on Labour’s watch.”

Heating oil is particularly important to rural communities in Wales, where many homes are not connected to the gas network.

A Senedd Research article published in 2022, drawing on 2020 figures, found that 19% of domestic properties in Wales were off the gas grid. The proportion was almost 75% in Ceredigion and more than half in Powys and Anglesey.

The article also cited a 2019 Audit Wales report which found that almost a third of rural Welsh households used oil as their main heating fuel.

Codes of conduct

Under the UK Government’s plans, industry codes of conduct will be strengthened while the new regulatory framework is developed. Ministers will also review practices requiring some customers to order at least 500 litres of heating oil.

Energy consumers minister 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.”

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