As I write, President Trump is on the news saying he believes the US/Israeli war on Iran is “very complete, pretty much”.
However the impact of the missile strikes on targets in the Middle East and the subsequent effect on oil prices could be felt for some time to come. Since the start of the conflict in Iran and the wider region, the price of heating oil has more than doubled. I know of many homes in the more rural parts of Ongar and the surrounding villages which are heated using oil rather than mains gas.
These households are disproportionately rural, with residents who are often elderly and vulnerable, and almost always without any realistic alternative. Unlike mains gas and electricity customers, they are not protected by the energy price cap, and they are already facing significant higher costs to fill up their tanks.
I want to reassure you that since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, I have called on the Government and will continue to call on it to take action to protect heating oil users from price gouging. I would like to see the Government bring forward a mandatory price transparency scheme for heating oil suppliers, requiring them to publish their prices publicly, so that consumers can compare suppliers and regulators can monitor margins during price spikes.
Rural households deserve better than to be left at the mercy of rogue suppliers and I assure you I will continue to monitor the situation.
