For those who live in the country

Kwil,

Not the same analogy. You would not want to see a white bread subsidy and brown bread at market prices Same for heating fuels!

Of course one has to pay market prices in the end. I just find it ridiculous that gas and electricity should be treated differently to heating oil.

Andrew.

I think I sympathise with your argument Andrew.

I think you should not think you are achieving anything towards getting what you want by clicking on a web petition.
I think that is a waste of time and the only way to make any progress is to persistently eyeball people.

Any other way just gets thrown aside like a used contraceptive.

Edited By Anthony Kendall on 20/03/2022 09:28:52

Another case of be very careful what you ask for! At the moment oil is a cheap way of heating a home, and I guess many are signing this petition because they want that happy state to continue. They correctly foresee oil prices following gas and electricity upwards, and think the government should protect them inline with other consumers. (Not that the government's buffer is that generous - a major part of it is a loan.)

But oh dear, the petition has oil users sticking their heads over the parapet. It draws attention to a disparity that government might feel obliged to correct, and the petitioners haven't considered the alternative ways that might be done. One way of fixing the issue is to subsidise oil users as they wish, another is to tax oil in line with other energy sources. As large numbers of voters might prefer everyone to pay their way and government policy is to reduce carbon footprint, it's not unlikely fairness will be achieved by taxing heating oil.

A similar booby trap caught residents in North Bristol a few years ago. The locals got fed up with visitors to UWE and other large offices parking outside their homes. Complaining to the council resulted in a Residents Parking Scheme requiring Residents to pay a hefty annual fee. Many people believe the public road outside their home is theirs to park on - it's not!

I suspect the best outcome for oil burning home-owners is for the petition to be discussed by a sub-committee and quietly dropped. I don't suppose the politicians want to upset another group of voters so it's to their advantage to let sleeping dogs doze on. The sleeping dogs in this case are the large number of voters who dislike subsidies in principle and those already paying more to heat their homes than the petitioners.

Petitions or not, it's likely Government Policy on energy regulation is already being reconsidered. The UK has enjoyed 30 years of price stability but that appears to be coming to an end due to mix of UK sources becoming exhausted, the ever increasing demand for energy abroad, and the rise of cheap but intermittent Green electricity. The existing regulatory framework and tax system probably needs major adjustment. We're already seeing a drive to replace gas and oil with heat pumps.

Dave

Dave,

I am always careful in what I ask for. If you think that oil is a cheap way of heating a house, then your googling has been none too careful. I have heated my house with oil for the last 45 years and I can assure you that there have been long periods where it was the most expensive form of heating.

The current price of heating oil is shooting up and is now 80% more that I paid for my last tank filling. That will probably be double by the end of the week at the current rate of increase. I fully expect to be paying £1.80 a litre when next I need to fill up my tank.

I am not expecting any government subsidy, I merely wish to be treated in the same way as gas and electricity buyers. The government should have more important things to spend its money on than supporting people who can afford to pay more. For instance those people who CANNOT afford the increase in heating bills Signing the petition might just make the government stop and think what they are doing. But electoral popularity is about the only thing that they care about.

Andrew.

Andrew, your comments sum up the plight of those who through no choice have to use oil for heating and cooking, the rate of rises in heating oil will at the present rate of increase make it substantially more expensive than diesel, is it possible to burn diesel in place of the designated heating oil when diesel becomes cheaper? Dave W

I too am surprised to read that “at the moment oil is a cheap way of heating a home”- please can you quote your sources of information(and of oil).

**LINK**

According to this site, oil is almost on par with gad.

Jim

Jim,

the website you provide a link to is dated January this year.

According to ‘Boilerjuice’ website the price of oil at that time was around 62p and recently peaked at about £1.60something. It’s wild fluctuations like that which are the problem.

Not for me to do boys homework!

Possibly the oil-burning homeowners amongst us are thinking of the big bills they get when their tank is refilled. Ouch, I'm sure! But there's another way of looking at it : how much would it cost to heat the house with other than heating oil? When that's done, I suggest big oil bills aren't so bad after all.

Easy experiment. Turn off the oil for a year and heat the house with standard tariff electricity instead. Is there a reason this hasn't already been done? I think we all know the answer - oil is cheaper! Many people don't have the choice - they have to heat electrically.

I'm not recommending a particular heating systems. I'm suggesting customers need to keep an eye on market trends and be ready to reconsider their options. I don't think Andrew's 45 years experience should carry much weight because the world is changing. It's what happens next that matters. I'm not rushing to change my heating system, but I am watching costs carefully and budgeting for a system change. Though I'll be glad if the government help, I'm not relying on them to bail me out.

Dave

Frank given the current situation, I doubt there is a reliable comparison anywhere!

Jim