Householders urged to buy oil before Winter sets in

Heating oil trade association the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS) is urging households using oil across Northern Ireland to buy their heating oil before the weather affects deliveries and price, by launching the 2015 ‘Buy Oil Early’ campaign together with Minister of State for Energy Andrea Leadsom.

Sutherland Tables, provider of comparative home heating costs for the most common fuels in the UK and Republic of Ireland, has announced its latest figures showing heating oil is 45 per cent cheaper than this time last year.

Chief Executive of the FPS Mark Askew commented: “The average cost to heat a three bedroom home in Northern Ireland using an oil condensing boiler is £745 per annum compared to £1816 for an LPG condensing boiler and if you use electricity to heat your home the average cost for a three-bedroomed house is £1608 per annum.

“So, the FPS say it is a great time to buy, particularly if we are in for a bad winter.

“When snow hits us deliveries of heating oil to mainly rural areas take longer and costs rise as oil heating distributors are forced to pay staff for longer hours to cope with the increase in demand and pay more for fuel to collect heating oil from refineries so we are advising homeowners to purchase their heating oil now while prices are low and oil distributors can get to them.

“Our members understand that times are hard and people may want to wait before ordering fuel but many oil distributors run payment schemes to encourage customers to have bigger, less frequent deliveries but then spread the payments out over the whole year, helping both financially and ensuring homeowners don’t run out of fuel when winter hits.”

Home heating costs using oil continue to dip well below the four year average with costs now sitting at approximately 50 - 53 per cent lower than the four year average.

Consequently, householders are spending on average up to 45 per cent less this winter than last year.

Minister of State for Energy Andrea Leadsom added: “My priority is keeping bills low for hardworking families and businesses, and with winter on its way it makes sense to plan ahead.

“If you use oil to heat your home, buying it sooner rather than later will help you avoid longer delivery times as demand increases.”