Martin Lewis has spoken to energy minister Ed Miliband today (Image: ITVX)
Money expert Martin Lewis spent part of his Saturday on the phone to Energy Minister Ed Miliband after raising a big concern over the rocketing price of one type of heating.
Martin explained in a tweet to his millions of followers this afternoon that heating oil prices have rocketed following the Middle East chaos.
Normally relied upon by rural communities, some reports suggest prices have ‘doubled’ in a week.
Now Martin is urging the Government to do something to help people with his ‘biggest concerns’ around heating oil.
He said: “Just got off the phone after @Ed_Miliband called to discuss in detail the problems people are facing with domestic energy bills and heating oil. Here’s what I fed through – your feedback would be useful…
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“1. HEATING OIL: This is the most immediate concern as many, often in rural areas or N. Ireland, are refuelling their tanks. Prices have rocketed, a few even suggest they’ve nearly doubled in a week. My biggest concerns are…
“a) Those who can’t afford the new price
b) Lack of specific regulation as heating oil isn’t covered by Ofgem (though that’s a longer-term issue)
c) Some have anecdotally reported existing booked-in orders being cancelled, and being asked to rebook at much higher prices. I want to firm up whether this is widespread…
“I’d like to hear specific examples of how much prices are rising, especially of point c) and will pass them through to the Department for Energy. “
Martin went on to add that gas and electricity bills are also a ‘potential ticking cost time bomb’, though bills are protected for the time being until July.
Martin added: “Those not on the Price Cap are mainly on existing fixes (which, due to unprecedented prior policy changes, will see most suppliers cut existing fix rates on 1 April, typically by 7% to 9%) so are also price protected for now.
One current concern is the lack of availability of cheap fixes. While that’s frustrating, in the short term it means those whose existing fixes are ending, will just (hopefully temporarily) need to move on to the Price Cap.
There are also a minority of homes who are immediately affected, eg, those on time-of-use tariffs. These include Octopus Agile & Tracker, which move half-hourly or daily with wholesale rates.
“These are sophisticated user tariffs, and if necessary people have the short term option to switch back to a Price Cap tariff (though do check for restrictions on how long before you can switch back).”
Martin said the next ‘crunch time’ will be around the end of May, adding: “The end of May is likely crunch time: This is usually when the next Price Cap (July to Sept) is announced. It currently seems very likely it will rise, though just how much all depends on how long lived the current energy price spike is. “
