Customers who use heating oil may find some little comfort as it is has been announced that they will receive £100 towards their energy bills. However with home heating oil back up to around £1 per litre this will put very little oil in the tank as we face into winter.
The £100 oil payment will come in addition to the £400 Energy Bills Support payment which is going to all UK households, and is an acknowledgement of the price rises customers have experienced this year. In addition, the Government has announced that a price cap, similar to what has been introduced in GB, will also apply to NI. It is reported that the cap will mean energy suppliers in Northern Ireland will reduce bills by up to 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for gas.
At the moment suppliers are charging between around 30p/kWh – 54p/kWh for electricity and 13p/kWh – 20p/kWh for gas although prices are changing on a regular basis.
How will this work in NI?
The big issue with regard the support announced is the lack of any detail. It is not clear how the £400 will be administered, or how the £100 oil fill support will be provided or how the energy price cap will work given we have a very different energy marker to GB. So as bills are already increased, and as we use more energy over the colder months its critical this becomes clearer and people actually receive the support promised.
