No more heating oil discounts in Shropshire as prices spiral up

With the price for heating oil relentlessly increasing every day in a volatile market, none of the suppliers have been willing to give a price too many days in advance.

The Community Resource oil buying club is the largest bulk-buying scheme in Shropshire and Staffordshire with a support network of 30 local volunteer coordinators and in normal times it wins 4 or 5p per litre discounts for its members through its buying power.

It often puts in bulk orders for 100,000 litres every month and in normal times but that buying power has disappeared.

Individual customers, who live mainly in Shropshire's villages and hamlets can have storage for 1,000 or 2,000 litres, which is enough to see them through the winter.

"We have had to say to our oil club members that we cannot get them a good price at the moment," said Community Resource chief executive, Julia Baron.

"The price has been rising every day and we hope that it will stabilise and we can get the oil when we can. All I can suggest to people is that they ring round suppliers - and in the meantime we have suspended the scheme. An email will be going to members on Monday."

The price is so volatile at the moment that in the space of a few days this week it rose from 99.6p per litre to nearly £1.60. And earlier in February the scheme paid 56p per litre.

She added that they have made calls to secure supplies to people in real need.

Ms Baron added: "Some people are really struggling. We do have a grant scheme for clients and helped an elderly lady who had nothing in her tank, and another lady with cancer who needs heat to stay warm and we got those placed."

Politicians, including North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan and Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds, who represents the rural Mid and West Wales Region in the Senedd, have called for an energy price cap for domestic heating oil. An MPs' letter has been sent to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng,

A spokesperson for the Government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the Energy Price Cap would still protect them for electricity. The Government has no plans to control prices or set a price cap for these fuels.

“If residents are off the gas grid, but on a default tariff for their electricity supply, they will still be protected by the Energy Price Cap which continues to protect 15 million households.

“In the longer term, improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings is vital to keeping household energy costs down and reducing carbon emissions, which is why are driving £6bn into making homes more energy efficient over the next 10 years.”

Heating oil customer Isabel Mathias, who lives between Whitchurch and Wem in rural north Shropshire is part of a small bulk buying community of neighbours. She paid 54p a litre in November and she has seen it available for 96p a litre.

Small company marketing expert Isabel, who works from home, said she is already taking decisions to use less energy.

"It can be really chilly in our old cottage," she said.

"The rise in prices is really worrying - they have gone up and up."

Ms Mathias and her neighbours use DA Roberts Fuels & Garage, in Whitchurch, and says they are very good at supplying them.

Fuel suppliers proved difficult to get hold of, with more than one saying they are "rushed off their feet" and were "too busy to talk".

But DA Roberts posted a message to customers on its Facebook page. It also runs a garage.

The company said: "Why have fuel prices increased so dramatically?

"We have been asked this question a lot recently so we would like to explain what is currently going on with the fuel prices.

"Forecourt prices are linked to a global fuel market, and as you have probably seen they have significantly increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There have been huge daily increases and in the past few weeks the total increase has been over 40pence."

They added: "We normally have a delivery every day so unfortunately, we have had no option but to put our prices up as the market increases.

"You know we always try to keep our prices as low as possible for our customers, but these rises are completely out of our hand.

"When global prices drop we can guarantee we will be the first to drop our forecourt prices.

"Thank you for your continued custom."