Northern Ireland Energy Minister Asked To Tackle Fuel Poverty In The Province
There have been calls for Northern Ireland Energy Minister Arlene Foster to introduce a ‘fuel tsar’ in order to tackle the fuel poverty problem there. The calls were made by Mr. Alasdair McDowell the SDLP deputy leader after a poll showed that 83 percent of Belfast Telegraph readers would be in favour of it. Readers wanted to see someone in charge of regulating the oil industry so that consumers were getting fair prices.
The question was put to the Energy Minister by Mr. McDonnell who wanted to know what plans the government has to implement these demands. Consumers could only benefit from having a fuel regulator in place as there would be an onus on suppliers to operate fair pricing. There is a response expected this week from Ms. Foster’s department.
70 percent of homes in Northern Ireland use oil as their main source of fuel so the continuously rising prices are causing some concern with residents. There has been a need for higher consumption of oil because of the recent freezing weather conditions that were experienced and this was worrying especially as the cost of 900 litres of oil increased by £25 in one month. Although there are many who think that by having a fuel regulator there will be better protection for consumers.
But according to Mr. David Blevings who is the spokesman for the Northern Ireland Oil Federation, the oil industry pricing is already fair. He blamed the increase in prices last month on the fact that there was an expected recovery in the global economy. He also stated that this was combined with the fact that there was widespread cold weather across the northern hemisphere which saw an increase in demand for oil. He said that because of this there was an increase in the price of kerosene and unfortunately this increase had a knock on effect in the increased price of retail oil.
Heating ones home in the cold months of winter can cost a fair packet. Fuel such as electricity and gas show no signs of coming down in price. Clever people are switching to heating oil as a fuel though. And when this happens they have to ensure the tanks re always full of heating oil to ensure they never run out.
