Oil Household Worried About Lack of Government Support

ossian

So I kept hearing all the useless discussions about price caps and what these mean for dual fuel users so I have just had a stab at estimating our energy bills for the winter.  After doing so I found and double checked the electricity calculator on here.

I've done it on an annual spend basis which has some flaws and there are other assumptions. I have estimated based on the October cap price for electricity as January is an unknown.  I have used the peak from last year for heating oil of £1.40 a litre rather than this summer's price of £1.20 that strikes me as optimistic (I am pretty pessimistic about energy prices in Europe this winter).  The answers are bleak. We are not an average 2.4 person household we are a 4 person (2 adults, one working, one forced into retirement, and two school age children) in Northern Scotland.

We used 2900 litres of oil in 2021 so if we have a mild winter we can expect to use a similar amount ignoring delivery or other fees that means an annual oil cost of 
£4060.

We use 5531kWh of electricity a year which means an annual electricity bill of about £3110 based on 12 months at October rates.

£7170 of energy costs a year is quite frightening and things may well get worse.  We will get the same help as everyone else and our example is doubtless not unusual.  I have insulated the walls, roof, windows, doors, etc. but there's a limit to what I can do to this building at a reasonable cost.  I haven't heard any discussions about government assistance for heating oil users is there anything?  I know we will get the same as everyone else on electricity but this is an extreme economic shock.  We are not poor enough for benefits support or special payments but I am worried that heating oil isn't capped and politicians think that everyone is in the average position (an average position that is very uncomfortable).

Are politicians really aware of the range of experiences and what this means for people?  Do they realise that income tax/NI cuts will not help the disabled, pensioners, unemployed, etc?  That they will help dual income households more than single etc.?  Do they realise not everyone lives on the gas network?  Do they realise that not everyone benefits from the urban heat effect or living in mild southern England?  

I am not generally an emotional person and realise that the problem isn't caused by our politicians but I am upset, angry, and intend to have a long memory when it comes to future voting choices.  I am sick of rich elitists signalling who intend to look after people like them and have no idea what everyone else is going through.  I am far from the most disadvantaged. Sorry for ranting but our government is "Out for Lunch".

DullGreyGuy

You have the compound impact of a popularity contest (aka democracy) where the interests of the majority are higher than those of the minority when it comes to the polls and the current incumbents who lean towards the haves and the aspirational haves rather than the have nots. 

Their proposed responses for the masses have been  minimal so unfortunately you are probably some time for a reasonable proposal for the minorities and then it'll depend on cost.

QrizB

Your energy consumption (5500kWh of electricity, 29000 kWh of heat) is something like double that of the average household, and you should expect your bills to reflect that.

lohr500

Personally I think your forecast at £1.40 per litre is high. (Well I really hope so).

Prices in Yorkshire have fallen over the past few weeks and the best local price I can find today is £0.84 + the 5% VAT.

How big is your tank and how much space do you have in it? If you think oil is going to increase as winter approaches and you can afford to do it, then why not fill your tank now. Only risk is if the new PM decides to remove the 5% VAT on energy soon after taking up residence in No.10. But oil could have gone up by 5% by then, so it is still a gamble.

We live in an old converted 5 bedroomed farmhouse in Yorkshire and got through a similar amount of oil in the year ending March 2022. I will be looking to reduce the thermostat temperature and run times this winter in an attempt to cut back on our oil consumption.

The_Fat_Controller

If anyone thinks a Labour government would do any better in the long term is living in cloud cuckoo land.

Starmer and Reeves' current plan only takes care of a very short period over the winter, does not account for those who have already have fixed at somewhere between the April and October levels and would eventually lead to a massive deficit if continued.

strawb_shortcake

South West oil prices are starting to nudge the £1 mark again.

ossian

QrizB said:

Your energy consumption (5500kWh of electricity, 29000 kWh of heat) is something like double that of the average household, and you should expect your bills to reflect that.

Which is probably to be expected with the average household having 2.4 people and ours having 4 and being sized to match that.  Combined with a rural setting (no urban heat effect) and older construction.  We air dry washing when weather permits and I don't heat the home when I am the only one in it (wife at work and kids at school).  Beyond that there isn't much that I can do.  Being off the gas grid our cooking is all electric which is probably the biggest factor increasing our electricity use.

I have a disabled child who is distressed by darkness and turns on lights and leaves them on all night each night and night lights haven't fixed that challenge.  I don't expect to be able to do much with that problem.  He worries about the planet and is trying to do better but this has been going on for years now.

ossian

lohr500 said:

Personally I think your forecast at £1.40 per litre is high. (Well I really hope so).

Prices in Yorkshire have fallen over the past few weeks and the best local price I can find today is £0.84 + the 5% VAT.

How big is your tank and how much space do you have in it? If you think oil is going to increase as winter approaches and you can afford to do it, then why not fill your tank now. Only risk is if the new PM decides to remove the 5% VAT on energy soon after taking up residence in No.10. But oil could have gone up by 5% by then, so it is still a gamble.

We live in an old converted 5 bedroomed farmhouse in Yorkshire and got through a similar amount of oil in the year ending March 2022. I will be looking to reduce the thermostat temperature and run times this winter in an attempt to cut back on our oil consumption.

I topped up last month when oil prices dipped here to 111.86p per litre as I always try to secure the low prices for the summer (I got a £1.11 quote this morning when I checked out of curiosity). It hasn't been £1.40 since March but it depends on how cold the winter is and how Russia behaves.  Ultimately I don't know what the price will be but I took into account that the forecast is for Russian output to fall through the rest of this year and next year. I guess I will be £800 "better off" if prices remain where they are.  It's still going to be a long cold winter for people.  I wonder if there are many people that haven't realised what this will mean for there finances.

I have topped up on wood to burn when no one else is at home too.

MX5huggy

Is all your lighting LED? With todays prices even changing low energy compact fluorescent bulbs for LED has a short payback for lights that are on all the time. Being in the north of Scotland I presume the lights are in a lot in the winter. 

ossian

MX5huggy said:

Is all your lighting LED? With todays prices even changing low energy compact fluorescent bulbs for LED has a short payback for lights that are on all the time. Being in the north of Scotland I presume the lights are in a lot in the winter. 

Yes all LED apart from some rarely used cupboards that have the old 11W bulbs.  I was puzzled by the differences with the average until I looked into the Ofgem data and found it was based around a 2.4 person household.  There are other differences like there is always someone at home in our house.  Older construction.  Snowy spot in Winter (even in our recent mild winters).

pochase

To just answer the basic question if you will get additional support for the heating cost, no you won't.

But you are not alone here, nobody gets additional cost for heating, it does not matter if they use gas, electricity, LPG or oil.

The complete energy help is based on the electricity account, assuming that almost everybody will use electricity. What you save in energy you than can use for partly for heating.