The government “will act” against home heating oil companies that “hike their prices without justification”, British prime minister Keir Starmer has said in advance of a visit to Northern Ireland.
Starmer is to meet the North’s political leaders on Thursday to discuss ways of addressing the soaring cost of home heating oil, the price of which has spiked since the US and Israel began a campaign of attacks on Iran almost two weeks ago.
“Let me be clear,” said the Labour leader in a statement released in advance of his arrival in Belfast. “We will not tolerate profiteering or unfair practices. If companies fleece customers or rip them off, we will not hesitate to step in, and that includes on regulation.”
According to the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, which tracks home heating oil prices weekly, the cost of a fill of oil increased by almost 60 per cent in the aftermath of the Iran attacks.
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On average, 900 litres of home heating oil cost £536.72 (€622.11) on February 26th, but had risen to £948.41 (€1,099.30) by March 5th.
Northern Ireland has been the most exposed region in the UK and Ireland to the rising price of home heating oil.
Oil is used by some 62 per cent of households in Northern Ireland to heat their homes, compared to about 3 per cent in England and Wales, 5 per cent in Scotland and 26 per cent in the Republic. The sector is unregulated, meaning price rises can be passed on directly to the consumer.
MPs from Northern Ireland met British treasury minister Lord Spencer Livermore on Wednesday amid calls for London to provide financial support following the sharp price increase.
The Competition and Markets Authority has been asked by the British government to look “urgently” at complaints of price gouging by some home heating oil companies.
In his statement, Starmer said he would discuss what the government is doing to protect families from “heating oil profiteering” with the First and Deputy First Ministers and the leaders of the North’s five largest parties.
“Global instability has real impacts on the lives of working people across the UK. And I know families in Northern Ireland are worried about what the war in the Middle East could mean for their finances, especially given so many households rely on heating oil to heat their homes,” he said.
“This government stands with working people, no matter the headwinds,” he said. And he added that he would spend his time in Belfast “meeting not only the politicians making decisions in Stormont, but also the people whose lives are shaped by conflicts abroad and the approach we take at home”.
