MPs demand action as heating oil prices surge

Urgent action is needed after heating oil prices rose sharply amid instability in the Middle East, two MPs have said.

Sussex MP Andrew Griffith and Surrey MP Claire Coutinho have written to Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband with claims suppliers are carrying out "blatant profiteering".

Griffith said one supplier had raised its price from 57p a litre to £1.25 a litre - and Coutinho said some families had seen pre-booked deliveries cancelled and re-offered at higher prices the same day. Both MPs called for a mandatory price transparency scheme.

Ministers said the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would gather evidence and look at whether consumers were being treated fairly.

East Surrey MP Coutinho said about 1.5 million homes in the UK were heated with oil rather than gas - households that were disproportionately rural, with residents who were often elderly and vulnerable.

Many families were being forced to order large minimum quantities of 500 litres, meaning they faced bills of several hundred pounds, she added.

Griffith, MP for Arundel and South Downs, said a significant number of homes in the South Downs were off the mains gas network and dependent on heating oil.

Both MPs said people using heating oil were not protected by the energy price cap, unlike mains gas and electricity customers.

Griffith said he had written to Miliband to share stories of "shameful behaviour" from suppliers, adding: "Some clearly had secured their supplies before the events in the Middle East but chose to hike prices anyway."

Coutinho, the previous Energy Security Secretary, asked Miliband what action had been taken to protect heating oil users since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, and whether he would request an investigation and action against suppliers by the CMA.

In a letter to the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association, Miliband and Energy Minister Michael Shanks said they had spoken to the CMA, which would "gather evidence on the situation in the market and look at whether consumers are being treated fairly".

The ministers said their expectation was pricing should be "fair, transparent and fully justifiable", and reminded distributors they remain subject to consumer‑protection and competition law.

Emma Cochrane, acting executive director for consumer protection at the CMA, said: "We know the situation in the Middle East is putting pressure on heating oil prices, and we recognise that this will worry people who may find it hard to afford these extra costs."

She said the CMA would generally expect customers who had placed orders to receive heating oil at the agreed price.

"Suppliers should be clear what they are charging and terms must be fair," she added. "We won't hesitate to take action if we suspect that consumer or competition law is being broken."

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