Its here https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/598647

Done, thanks! We don't have oil as we inherited bulk LPG so just hoping they include that in this bill…

This is probably not news to any of you, but …

**LINK** : https://www.oil-club.co.uk

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Although I don’t use heating oil, I was recently talking to someone who does … and he highly recommends them.

MichaelG.

Who is paying the difference between the Market Value and the Price Cap on Gas and Electricity?

Perhaps you want to remove the cap on Gas and Electtric then and pay full market price!!!

In my view all 3 fuels (Gas, Electric and Oil) should either be capped or not capped

Partly the consumer through a temporary loan and partly Local Government, who will fund it by cutting services.

The Price Cap is misunderstood. It's a mechanism designed to stop energy retailers from making excessive profits, not a way of keeping bills low when wholesale gas is expensive.

The problem is gas prices shot up so high last year that many energy retailers went bust because the cap was set too low: every customer cost them money. The cap's being lifted in April but given that gas prices are set to rise even more, I wouldn't be surprised to see the mechanism scrapped entirely. It only made sense whilst wholesale gas stayed cheap.

Personally, I think the Government are unwise to try and soften the blow as they are. Creates an illusion of relief that's liable to pop like a bubble unless gas prices fall again soon. Unfortunately, Putin has scuppered that and his timing is probably deliberate. Therefore better for consumer prices to follow the market than to distort the tax system, introduce weird loans, and rob Peter to pay Paul, even though it will make our leaders unpopular.

Dave

Next step, subsidised bread because of wheat prices?

Running cars on red diesel costs the exchequer enough in lost revenue. If they take the tax off heating oil I expect folks may start using that instead? That’s aside from that fact that heating oil is probably the most polluting solution for home heating.

My thoughts exactly Andrew.

As I've written before we live in a rural area, although Worcester and Pershore are fast encroaching on the countryside around here, it seems politicians only think about city dwellers requirements and give scant thought to anyone else. Clearly they are going for what makes most folk vote for them…

As an aside, I recently had my LPG boiler serviced by a local plumber who we have used for years and asked for his views on ground source/heat pumps. His view was that as the best temperature that they can provide is around 50 degrees C so we would need extra electrical assistance to get to the 62 degrees we have our boiler set at. He also said that considering the cost to install the ground source/heat pump we are better staying with LPG even if we had to have a new boiler, of course that may change over time so will be reviewed as and when. I added this because its another instance of government not considering all users and, like electric cars, plugging away at what gets them votes.

went out last week…..

Diesel fuel was 1,95 euro's per lit

95 petrol…………2.15 " "

heating oil……….1,65 " "

Kwil,

Not the same analogy. You would not want to see a white bread subsidy and brown bread at market prices Same for heating fuels!

Of course one has to pay market prices in the end. I just find it ridiculous that gas and electricity should be treated differently to heating oil.

Andrew.

Another case of be very careful what you ask for! At the moment oil is a cheap way of heating a home, and I guess many are signing this petition because they want that happy state to continue. They correctly foresee oil prices following gas and electricity upwards, and think the government should protect them inline with other consumers. (Not that the government's buffer is that generous – a major part of it is a loan.)

But oh dear, the petition has oil users sticking their heads over the parapet. It draws attention to a disparity that government might feel obliged to correct, and the petitioners haven't considered the alternative ways that might be done. One way of fixing the issue is to subsidise oil users as they wish, another is to tax oil in line with other energy sources. As large numbers of voters might prefer everyone to pay their way and government policy is to reduce carbon footprint, it's not unlikely fairness will be achieved by taxing heating oil.

A similar booby trap caught residents in North Bristol a few years ago. The locals got fed up with visitors to UWE and other large offices parking outside their homes. Complaining to the council resulted in a Residents Parking Scheme requiring Residents to pay a hefty annual fee. Many people believe the public road outside their home is theirs to park on – it's not!

I suspect the best outcome for oil burning home-owners is for the petition to be discussed by a sub-committee and quietly dropped. I don't suppose the politicians want to upset another group of voters so it's to their advantage to let sleeping dogs doze on. The sleeping dogs in this case are the large number of voters who dislike subsidies in principle and those already paying more to heat their homes than the petitioners.

Petitions or not, it's likely Government Policy on energy regulation is already being reconsidered. The UK has enjoyed 30 years of price stability but that appears to be coming to an end due to mix of UK sources becoming exhausted, the ever increasing demand for energy abroad, and the rise of cheap but intermittent Green electricity. The existing regulatory framework and tax system probably needs major adjustment. We're already seeing a drive to replace gas and oil with heat pumps.

Dave