Urgent financial support is being demanded for rural Yorkshire households facing massive spikes in alternative fuel costs ahead of the winter season.
Urgent targeted financial support is being demanded to help rural Yorkshire households mitigate the rapidly rising cost of heating oil.
Domestic fuel prices, including heating oil and liquified petroleum gas, have surged significantly since the beginning of the year. These fuels remain essential resources for many rural families whose homes are not connected to the national gas grid.
Heating oil costs more than doubled in the immediate aftermath of US-led strikes on Iran, an event which caused widespread turmoil across the global oil market.
Further financial support is being pledged by the government ahead of the coming winter season. In response, Community First Yorkshire, an ACRE Network member covering North, South, and West Yorkshire, is joining calls for any new assistance to be extended to homes reliant on alternative fuel sources.
Gas and electricity bills will jump by four per cent from October following a recent Ofgem price cap announcement. This increase means an average family will likely pay around £60 more each year for their regulated energy.
However, heating oil is not covered by the Ofgem price cap. The price of a single litre stood at 94p on Wednesday the second of September, representing an approximate 82 per cent increase compared to the same day last year.
Standard deliveries offered by most suppliers usually consist of 1,000 litres. At current rates, this bulk purchase will set an average rural family back by almost £940.
Dena Dalton, Deputy Chief Executive at Community First Yorkshire, said:
"We are facing a rural cost of living crisis for energy, and it’s one that is having a very real and measurable impact on many families living in Yorkshire.
"With the approach of colder weather, there is now a pressing need for the government to make meaningful decisions and reassure rural people that they have not been forgotten.
"As a proud member of the ACRE Network, which exists to speak and act on behalf of all rural communities, we are joining the wider call for more targeted financial support to be offered to households that have no choice but to use heating oil or LPG to stay warm.
"Living off the gas grid is already a challenge – with fuel needing to be purchased in advance and in bulk, before then being physically delivered to each address – and the sustained volatility of the heating oil market since March has only added to the stress, worry and anxiety felt by all off-grid energy users."
Several policy proposals have already been submitted to ministers by Action with Communities in Rural England, the national umbrella organisation for the ACRE Network. If implemented, these measures could provide families with some limited breathing room.
One suggested action is the immediate removal of the five per cent VAT currently added to all heating oil purchases. This move would save an average rural family around £45 per 1,000-litre purchase at current prices.
Corinne Pluchino, Chief Executive of Action with Communities in Rural England, said:
"We are grateful that our network of 37 member charities is backing our call to get more targeted support for those off the gas grid delivered in time for winter.
"We remain keen to work with the government on any initiatives that can help these rural families keep energy costs down, and hope that a positive announcement will be made very soon, and before the real cold weather sets in."
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