The government has pledged to overhaul regulation of the sector, promising tighter rules, greater competition and improved compensation routes for customers when problems arise.
Ministers said they would work with the industry to “develop a regulatory regime for the heating oil market, protecting consumers and promoting competition”.
However, there is no indication that a price cap similar to the one covering standard variable gas and electricity tariffs will be extended to heating oil customers. Nor has any timeline been set for when the new regulations will come into force.
In the interim, discounts on heat pumps have been made available and a code of practice remains in place.
The practice of requiring minimum orders of 500 litres from some customers will also be examined, with the government noting this had forced some people to purchase more fuel than they actually needed.
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