In a statement on behalf of the liquid fuel industry trade association Ken Cronin, CEO commented: “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.”
A complex sector
The support, originally set at £100, was announced back in September as part of the government’s Energy Price Bill measures. Confirmation followed in October that payments would be made through customer’s electricity providers due to the complexity of accounts in the heating oil sector, but the full details of payment timings remain unclear.
“There is still some work to complete on the logistics of the payment,” Ken confirms. “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.”