(From HeatingOil.com )
UK energy minister Charles Hendry supports an investigation into the British heating oil industry after huge price spikes at the end of last year. As HeatingOil.com reported in early December, heating oil users in the United Kingdom saw prices blast off in the midst of weeks of Arctic temperatures and heavy snow. The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced this week that it had launched an official investigation into the country’s heating oil market and would look into consumer allegations of price gouging during the extreme weather, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
British heating oil users complained that prices spiked right when they needed the fuel most, in the middle of a record cold snap that engulfed much of Europe. Those price spikes, according to the Telegraph, far outpaced increases in wholesale prices:Customers reported prices jumping from 40p a litre to 70p a litre this winter. This is despite only a 10pc rise in the wholesale price.
To be sure, a 75 percent price increase in a matter of weeks or even months is well outside the range of normal price fluctuations, even during times of high demand. In the US, heating oil prices have been on the rise for most of the heating season so far, and although prices have risen dramatically since October, the increases have been gradual.
The announcement from the OFT follows a call for an investigation from energy minister Charles Hendry in an interview with the Telegraph on Friday. During the interview, Hendry said he was particularly concerned about the “fact that quite a number of suppliers are owned by one individual company”.
According to a report published Tuesday by the Daily Mail, the largest supplier of home heating oil in the UK is DCC Energy, which could be the company to which Hendry was referring. Seperately, DCC Energy has been hit with allegations of deceptive practices made against the price comparison site it owns, BoilerJuice.com. Some consumers have claimed in recent weeks that BoilerJuice.com aided DCC Energy in “profiteering” by misrepresenting heating oil dealers it owns as competing independent dealers.
According to Hendry, the OFT hopes to conclude its investigation into the UK heating oil industry “by next winter.”
Source link:http://www.heatingoil.com/blog/uk-government-launches-investigation-into-heating-oil-prices0125/
UK energy minister Charles Hendry supports an investigation into the British heating oil industry after huge price spikes at the end of last year. As HeatingOil.com reported in early December, heating oil users in the United Kingdom saw prices blast off in the midst of weeks of Arctic temperatures and heavy snow. The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced this week that it had launched an official investigation into the country’s heating oil market and would look into consumer allegations of price gouging during the extreme weather, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
British heating oil users complained that prices spiked right when they needed the fuel most, in the middle of a record cold snap that engulfed much of Europe. Those price spikes, according to the Telegraph, far outpaced increases in wholesale prices:Customers reported prices jumping from 40p a litre to 70p a litre this winter. This is despite only a 10pc rise in the wholesale price.
To be sure, a 75 percent price increase in a matter of weeks or even months is well outside the range of normal price fluctuations, even during times of high demand. In the US, heating oil prices have been on the rise for most of the heating season so far, and although prices have risen dramatically since October, the increases have been gradual.
The announcement from the OFT follows a call for an investigation from energy minister Charles Hendry in an interview with the Telegraph on Friday. During the interview, Hendry said he was particularly concerned about the “fact that quite a number of suppliers are owned by one individual company”.
According to a report published Tuesday by the Daily Mail, the largest supplier of home heating oil in the UK is DCC Energy, which could be the company to which Hendry was referring. Seperately, DCC Energy has been hit with allegations of deceptive practices made against the price comparison site it owns, BoilerJuice.com. Some consumers have claimed in recent weeks that BoilerJuice.com aided DCC Energy in “profiteering” by misrepresenting heating oil dealers it owns as competing independent dealers.
According to Hendry, the OFT hopes to conclude its investigation into the UK heating oil industry “by next winter.”
Source link:http://www.heatingoil.com/blog/uk-government-launches-investigation-into-heating-oil-prices0125/
