Sunday 18 May 2014

Homes using heating oil offered fixed price tariff

Houses which rely on oil for heating were offered a fixed price tariff for oil yesterday in what is claimed to be an industry "first".

Fuel company Craggs Energy said its new tariff will stop people being “at the mercy of a fragmented market” and “unpredictable pricing” from suppliers.

Most of the 1.5 million customers which need heating oil tend to be in rural areas but the home heating oil market is unregulated.

It is “not unusual” for the cost of a tank of oil to rise between a customer ordering and supplier delivering only a few days later, according to Lancashire-based Craggs which launched in September 2011.

The company seems to be taking on heating oil firm Certas Energy (formerly GB Oils) which apparently owns 65% of UK suppliers.