Heating-Oil Prices Rise, Raising Winter Cost Pressure in Devon and Cornwall

What changed

Heating-oil prices have risen from about 60p to 97p a litre since conflict involving Iran, increasing pressure on households and farms in Devon and Cornwall, according to BBC News.

Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for rural affairs and broadband, said 41,000 Devon households use heating oil as their main heating source. She warned that filling a tank could cost households about £500 more than expected and noted that heating oil has no equivalent of Ofgem’s price cap.

The increase is also affecting farms, which use fuel for agricultural vehicles and heavy machinery. In Cornwall, Mark Clews said his delivery price had risen from 55p a litre at the same time last year to more than £1.

Devon’s Crisis and Resilience Fund, delivered through district councils and Citizens Advice Devon, can support low-income households facing sudden costs including heating oil.

Why it matters

Heating-oil users must often pay for large deliveries in a single bill. That makes a price rise a cash-flow problem as well as an increase in household costs, particularly for people who cannot readily change their heating system.

Households may delay deliveries, reduce heating or use electric blankets, but those measures do not reduce the price of the next tank. Farms face a similar squeeze through fuel used daily, with larger operations potentially facing larger machinery bills.

If prices remain high as colder weather approaches, some households may have to find hundreds of pounds quickly or reduce other essential spending. Local hardship funds may help bridge an unexpected bill, but they do not remove the underlying exposure to volatile prices.

What to watch next

The key indicators are heating-oil prices as winter approaches, whether delivery costs continue rising, and how many Devon households seek support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

The severity of the impact will depend on both the price at the next delivery and whether households can afford to buy before colder weather increases demand for heating.