I clienti dell’olio da riscaldamento dell’Est dell’Inghilterra riferiscono che i prezzi sono raddoppiati

Oil-fired central heating users are just the thin edge of the wedge. We’ll all be feeling the pinch soon enough.

I don’t understand why the BBC keep running this as a “local” news story – first Northern Ireland, now East of England (actually Suffolk).

It is a UK wide, national issue. Many (most?) living in rural areas have no access to mains gas and often rely on oil or cylinder gas for heating/hot water and maybe cooking. The prices for these are completely unregulated and can change overnight, even hourly when situations such as the current Middle East war or the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

June, 2022, just after the invasion of Ukraine, I was paying 98.7 p/litre. June, 2023 is was down to 57.65 p/litre. September, 2023 it was up to 81.69 p/litre then by May, 2025 it was down to 52.76 p/litre. January, this year, it was at 56.66 p/litre.

Last Saturday (28/02), it was at 62.91 p/litre but by Monday (02/03) it was at around 135.00 p/litre. A combination of profiteering and panic buying.

Today (07/03), where I live, very few suppliers are quoting as supplies locally are very low (panic buying) and I don’t know when I might next be able to get a delivery

For context, during this last winter, I’ve used maybe 8 litres/day which equates to around 80 kWh. Fortunately, my tank currently contains around 750 litres although that’s not as much as it seems because letting the oil tank get too low can result in sediment getting into the system. At best, this means filters have to be removed and cleaned, at worst, the boiler is damaged.

So, I’m probably OK at least until early May, maybe longer depending on the weather.

This is also one reason I’m considering replacing the oil-fired boiler with a heat pump.

I’ve mentioned this a few times now, but…

24th Feb I paid £612 for 1000litres (worryingly not yet arrived)

Today’s price: £1579

Forget paying at a higher price I can’t even order any! No distributor local is taking orders right now besides one which has jacked its price up to almost £2 a litre. I’m currently looking at buying 20ltr containers of it to at least have a little to tide me over.