heatingoilinfo

Gov’t to Blame for Energy Efficiency Failures

Figures released by the Association for the Conservation of Energy estimate that installations of home energy efficiency measures will hit a shocking 10 year low, later this year.

The group, which ‘aims to end fuel poverty and reduce overall energy demand to ensure a secure and sustainable future’ revealed that the number of energy-saving measures installed through government programmes declined by 60% in the past year, falling from 1.65 million in 2012/13 to just 661,000 in 2013/14.

Further declines of up to 23% are expected, with figures of 507,000 estimated for later this year. Energy Bill Revolution, who commissioned the research, claim that the measures that were previously created to help UK residents save money on their energy bills, have “collapsed” as a result of failing government policies.

The campaign group – which is an alliance of over 190 charities, unions and businesses – say that the drop is due to Downing Street’s decision to scrap the ‘warm front’ scheme, which was the only government-backed energy efficiency programme for households categorised as ‘poor’.

Furthermore, they claim that there have been significant failures in other publicly-funded energy-saving schemes, including the government’s Green Deal program, which has been labelled an “abject failure”, and the Energy Company Obligation, which was simply, “poorly designed”.

Curiously, this fall in the uptake of energy efficiency procedures has happened despite the fact that there is still a huge requirement for such measures. There are currently 13 million households across the UK without condensing boilers, 5 million household that would significantly benefit from cavity wall insulation and a further 7.5 million in dire need of lofts insulation.

According to the campaign group, existing programmes created to tackle fuel poverty would miss targets endorsed by the government’s advisory Committee on Climate Change. As such, the task force is recommending that insulation for all remaining cavity walls and lofts should be completed by 2015, with 2.2 million solid wall insulation installations by 2022.

Ed Matthew, director of the Energy Bill Revolution campaign, said: “The government’s energy efficiency policies are in free fall. As a result, fuel poverty is getting worse and people are dying. The government must make home energy efficiency an infrastructure investment priority to put the funding in place to end this scandal once and for all.”

Discount Heating Oil Prices is a company where one can find the lowest home heating oil prices. The company also provides delivery assistance to your home punctually and securely. Just visit the official website, enter your zip code, browse the lowest price available on heating oil in your place and click on the “buy now” button. Getting discount heating oil in Massachusetts is now just a click away from you

Iraq Crisis Brings Instability to Heating Oil Prices

In recent months, heating oil prices have been moving in the right direction i.e. downwards. A trend that started uncharacteristically early in January 2014 largely because of the extremely mild winter. As we have moved into the warmer months, prices have continued to fall with average prices in the UK hitting levels not seen since 2011. All of that changed abruptly last week with the growing unrest in Iraq spooking the commodity markets and resulting in a spike in crude oil prices.

Compare Heating Oil Prices from http://www.boilerjuice.com ©

Heating oil price data provided by BoilerJuice.com

Why is Iraq so Important to Crude Oil Prices?

Like the unrest in Syria at the end of August 2013, the current march of the ISIS forces in Iraq is a serious concern to world oil markets. Despite the fact Syria was not an oil producing country, it did have critical oil supply pipelines under its control and, as a result, prices shot up by approximately $10 a barrel. Iraq, on the other hand, is OPEC’s second largest oil producer and exports approximately 3.3million barrels of crude oil a day. That’s approximately 4% of global oil supply. On the scale of things, 3.3 million barrels doesn’t sound like a lot until you realise that, if Iraq supplies went offline completely, this would potentially wipe out any spare capacity OPEC has and would inevitably lead to large price rises.

Iraq conflict causes rises in heating oil prices

Equally as important as existing supplies of crude oil are future supplies. It is estimated that Iraq is sitting on the world’s 5^th largest proven reserves of crude oil so the potential to increase production and provide a large percentage of world oil supplies is there. Iraq have, up until now, been focused on developing oil exports with production growth up by 22% since 2011. The main driving force being that oil provides more than 90% of all government revenue and 75% of GDP. It is believed that by 2019 production could be at 4.6m barrels a day and, beyond this some estimate Iraq could be producing between 6 and 8 million barrels a day. That’s a lot of oil and, as world economies continue to grow, the world is going to need the extra capacity to cope with increasing demand.

Where are Prices Going?

At the moment, the continuing march of ISIS towards Baghdad has driven prices up by approximately 5% to a 9 month high of $115 a barrel. We haven’t yet reached the levels seen in the Syrian crisis last summer but analysts are predicting that if oil exports from Iraq fail, prices could exceed $120 a barrel. Victor Shum, vice president of IHS Energy Insight told Bloomberg that he expects to see a rise of at least $10-$15 a barrel.

Whether prices will hit new highs is largely down to whether ISIS are able to disrupt exports by either physically attacking and taking over the oil fields in the South of the country that account for 75% of all production or, as is more likely, disrupt supplies by targeting infrastructure that supports the regime in Baghdad. There is already evidence of this happening with attacks on the main Baiji refinery near Mosul that produces 310000 barrels a day for internal use. Baiji also happens to be a primary power provider to Baghdad. There are also reports that ISIS have taken over the dam at Haditha which could lead to disruption of electricity supplies to the main grid.

Of course, unrest in Iraq is not the only cause for concern in terms of escalating crude oil prices. Ongoing disruption to supplies in Libya due to unrest, the increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine and political instability in Venezuela and Nigeria are all potential trigger points for further price increases.

What Does this Mean for Heating Oil Prices in the UK?

We have been relatively lucky over recent months in that the weather has worked in our favour and kept prices of heating oil down. Other factors that have supressed prices include the recent strength of the pound (we buy crude oil in dollars so when the pound is stronger, imports in dollars are cheaper) and the fact that growth in China has slowed meaning demand for oil is not as strong. However, if the unrest and, perhaps more importantly, the uncertainty over Iraq continues, it is highly likely heating oil prices will rise.

Prices rose rapidly shortly after news of the progress of ISIS in Iraq largely because UK heating oil users immediately saw the potential threat to prices, perhaps being reminded of last years’ hikes when Syria kicked off in late August. At BoilerJuice we saw a large spike in volumes over the weekend of 13^th June as people rushed to top up their tanks just in case prices started to rise. Largely as a result of this, prices did actually rise as demand increased and have now dropped back slightly. However, as higher crude oil prices filter down to heating oil the price will inevitably be affected, but by how much is harder to predict. The Syrian conflict, which saw a $10 increase in crude oil prices resulted in a little over 2 pence per litre increase in heating oil. So far, the Iraq conflict has seen a $5 increase in crude oil which as caused heating oil prices to rise by just over 1 pence per litre. So heating oil price increases do appear to be proportional to crude oil prices.

What we don’t know is how long the uncertainty in Iraq is likely to last. It appears that the Americans aren’t in any hurry to step in and try and secure the situation which could mean, as it has in Syria, that the conflict could drag on for many months. With Syria, once the initial crude oil price rises had happened, they held for a very short space of time (approximately 3-4 weeks) before falling to pre-crisis levels once oil speculators realised that the US was not going to bomb Syria. This could well happen with Iraq and there are already indications that this may be happening as oil prices have started to stabilise, albeit around the higher $115 per barrel. However, if the conflict does drag on towards autumn and winter, other price pressures caused by increasing demand for heating oil will start to drive prices higher, perhaps higher than they would have been without the conflict.

Govt Encouraged by Fuel Poverty Fall

The government has hailed the latest data on fuel poverty, noting that it is ‘encouraging’ to see that the number of people classed as being ‘fuel poor’ has fallen.

fuel poverty decrease

Energy and climate change minister Greg Barker explained that government innovations such as the Energy Company Obligation and Green Deal have supported more than 370,000 low income and vulnerable households already.

But the release of the statistics has received a mixed reaction, as the government recently changed the way fuel poverty was calculated, which industry leaders say has had an impact on the figures.

The latest data shows that the number of households in fuel poverty in England was estimated at around 2.28 million in 2012, representing around ten per cent of all English households. The government stated that this is a significant decrease (of almost 5 per cent) from the 2.39 million households recorded in 2011.

But charity National Energy Action argued that the statistics released by the government are misleading. Jenny Saunders, chief executive of the body, commented: “While the number of fuel poor households in England fell marginally in the year up to 2012, it is projected to increase again by 2014, up to 2.33 million. Their energy bills remain £1.1 billion more than they would be if they had properties and incomes in line with the average household.”

A spokesperson for the charity Christians Against Poverty also noted that while progress in reducing fuel poverty is to be welcomed, it is still “shocking” how widespread the problem is in the UK.

The charity’s representative said: “It is worse that so many of the poorest are having to pay for their gas and electric at a premium because of pre-paid meters which prevent them being able to get the best deals. We’d like to see more energy companies addressing this injustice.”

A roll-out of new smart meters is currently under-way, with the government hoping this innovation will encourage people to take action to reduce how much energy they use, bringing down their bills in the process.

Crude Oil Price Increase Alert!

The last few days have seen a dramatic increase in the price of crude oil. While this hasn’t yet significantly affected heating oil prices, we wanted to warn you that a heating oil price increase may be just around the corner!

To avoid being left in the cold, we recommend that you order now to take advantage of prices while they’re low and secure your oil supply for winter.
Keep an eye on heating oil prices with our UK Price Chart.

brent-price-chart

Brent Crude – Oil Price Trend Chart

European Protests Over Imports of Tar Sands Oil

Tar Sands Oil has Been Imported into Spain.
Tar sands oil imports arrive in Spain

Protests have taken place after the first major importation of tar sands oil was completed in Europe, with 570,000 barrels of Western Canada Select heavy blend crude arriving in Spain.

A spokesman for Repsol described the move as offering a chance to give a future for oil refining in Europe. Tar sands oil has been controversial as it is believed to be more polluting than other forms of crude.

The port of Bilbao in Spain was the scene of the protests and Mariano Gonzalez of Ecologists in Action told the Guardian that “this was a good occasion to raise awareness about what’s happening and express our disapproval”.

Mr Gonzalez pointed out that it was a test shipment, which means it is vital the European Union (EU) takes steps to prevent it from becoming a regular occurrence.

Canada has complained about proposed EU rules that would mean tar sands oil would have to be labelled as being more polluting than other types of crude.

Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper suggested Europe should instead view the supply of oil from Canada as more secure than options from Ukraine, which is in the grip of major political upheaval after Russian leader Vladimir Putin moved troops into the disputed Crimea region.

Securing Global Supplies

Speaking to reporters after G7 talks in Brussels this week, Mr Harper said: “We don’t see the crisis in Ukraine as simply an opportunity to market Canadian products, but obviously we’re deeply engaged in an discussion with our allies on how we can make sure that globally our energy supplies are secure and stable.”

EU policymakers have proposed changes that would mean companies would have to report an EU-wide average of the emissions for raw materials, Reuters reports. If these proposals were to go through, it could mean potential hurdles for Canada in selling tar sands oil to Europe are taken away, opening up a new market to the North American country.

Canada has the largest deposits of tar sands oil in the world, with much of the commodity being found in Alberta. Venezuela is another of the world’s major resources for the oil, while there are deposits all over the Middle East as well. The US has some tar sands, with much of the oil in eastern Utah, where it is situated under public land.

Scotland Launches £60m Energy Efficiency Fund

Vulnerable households across Scotland are to get help to improve the energy efficiency of their properties through the launch of a major new government fund.

Some £60 million has been made available by the Scottish government and the goal is for the money to be used by people to make their homes warmer, more environmentally friendly and cheaper to run.

Housing minister Margaret Burgess announced the programme earlier in the month on a visit to Ravenscraig, Kirkcaldy in Fife, where she met residents whose homes have been improved through upgrades such as external wall insulation.

She said: “It is a scandal that there should be any fuel poverty in an energy-rich nation like Scotland. This £60 million investment will be distributed across all of Scotland’s local authorities and will help households in fuel poor areas stay warm and reduce their energy bills. In total, the Scottish government will spend almost a quarter of a billion pounds over a three year period on fuel poverty and energy efficiency.”

One innovation that may be available through the £60 million fund is Ecopods, which were recently installed by Queens Cross Housing Association in Woodside. Queens Cross chief executive Shona Stephen stated that over 500 Woodside households will benefit from warmer homes, on top of a reduction of up to 40 per cent in their heating and hot water bills.

She said: “Raising the energy efficiency of homes is the most sustainable way to tackle fuel poverty. Indications from comparison sites with Ecopod indicate that our tenants will see significant savings on their fuel bills.

But What About Heating Oil Users?

Councillor Judy Hamilton, executive spokesperson for housing and building services at Fife Council, explained £3 million is going to the local authority from central government, with a partnership formed with charity Changeworks to ensure the most vulnerable people benefit.

Heating oil users in rural parts of Scotland are expected to be among those to get help through the fund, as people cut off from the grid are typically more likely to be in fuel poverty.

Scotland’s energy sector is being heavily debated at the present time as the country prepares to go to the polls for a referendum on independence in September. While Scotland itself has lots of energy resources, there are concerns about what independence could mean for the UK’s energy policy as a whole. The referendum is set to take place on September 18th.

Energy secretary Ed Davey recently told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme that the current single market for energy in the UK is more secure.

He said: “It keeps costs down and it will enable us to go green, to go low carbon. Split that up and all those benefits go.”

Buying Heating Oil in Summer: Top Tips

In case you haven’t noticed Heating Oil prices have been falling dramatically. The UK average for home heating oil was 48.56 pence per litre (inc VAT) this time last year, it’s now at a staggering 8 year low of 31.92 pence per litre today. So why is this happening? How long will it last?

Factors that Influence Heating Oil Prices

There’s always a number of factors effecting the price of oil in the UK; VAT rates, weather conditions, demand, distribution costs, refining costs, currency exchange rates, and even conflicts in oil-producing countries all need to be taken into account.

This time though, the main factor contributing to this drop seems to be the price of crude oil.

Crude Oil is Cheap!

If you read the business section of your favourite paper you’ll already be well aware, but Crude Oil is cheap at the moment, and this can’t be overstated, with the price per barrel falling from above $100 a barrel in 2014 to $40 a barrel in 2015. To put this into perspective the price hasn’t dropped lower than $70 per barrel since 2010.

With the US production of oil it’s highest in almost 30 years, and Opec refusing to cut production, the market is flooded, bringing crude oil prices down, and allowing domestic oil users to benefit.

Source: International Energy Agency

Should I Stock Up Now?

So how long will this last? Will they drop even further?

Well the answers would be we don’t know, and maybe.

Not very helpful we agree, but at the moment we’re not sure anybody knows. All countries are starting to feel the pinch though; this means production could slow down and prices could rise at any moment – so now may be the perfect moment to take advantage…

Final May Madness Winner Announced!

Here it is, hot off the press – The final winner of our May Madness giveaway is…Mr.H from County Antrim in Northern Ireland.

Congratulations Mr. H!

Want a Chance to Win 500 Litres of Heating Oil? Win with Our Golden Ticket Giveaway

Don’t worry – May Madness may be over, but you still have a chance to win with BoilerJuice.

Every week during June one lucky customer will win 500 litres of heating oil in our Golden Ticket Giveaway, PLUS, we’re giving away a £10 BoilerJuice voucher every day in our daily prize draw.

Order any time during June for your chance to win!

Read the full Golden Ticket terms and conditions here.

What Affects UK Heating Oil Prices? (2015)

At BoilerJuice we often get asked what we think prices will do over the next few months. Unfortunately, heating oil prices are notoriously difficult to predict, with dozens of factors affecting prices on a daily basis.

While we can’t promise a magic formula for predicting what will happen with heating oil prices in 2015, we do have a few tips to help you out. Check out the info below to learn what affects heating oil prices in the UK and work out how to spot upcoming trends.

factors affecting heating oil prices

Fluctuations in heating oil prices are often the result of a combination of several factors:

Weather

Weather is one of the main factors that affects heating oil prices in the UK. Generally, when temperatures drop, people use their heating more. This can result in a sudden surge in demand for heating oil, which causes prices to spike.

Cold weather also puts more pressure on Suppliers, as it is difficult to manoeuvre delivery tankers in ice or snow. This can cause delivery issues which can drive up the Supplier’s transportation costs.

On the other hand, during warm months there is less demand for heating oil and supply is plentiful so prices tend to decrease. For this reason, a lot of heating oil users choose to stock-up on their heating oil when temperatures are high and prices are low.

WARNING: Extreme weather conditions can affect prices very quickly, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on weather forecasts and order early when possible.

Supply & Demand

As with any commodity, supply and demand plays a very big part in heating oil pricing. If demand soars when supplies are low, this puts a lot of financial pressure on Suppliers, who are forced to purchase emergency supplies at a higher price. This can also happen if oil production is cut during a period of high demand, as it will be difficult for Suppliers to source their oil.

On the other hand, during times of low demand (for example, during summer, when there is not as much need for heating oil), prices often drop. This can also happen if there are a large number of heating oil suppliers in your local area, as competition can drive down prices.

Refining Costs

Heating oil is a by-product of crude oil, and as such, needs to be broken down and processed before it can be used. This procedure is called distillation and is carried out at an oil refinery. Although Kerosene is one of the easiest (and therefore the cheapest) oil products to distil from crude, there are several factors that can affect the cost of this process. Changes in personnel, equipment, taxes or transportation fees for the companies that carry out this procedure can ultimately affect how much you pay for your heating oil on a domestic level.

Distribution and Delivery Costs

As Suppliers do not produce their own oil, they need to source their supply from the nearest refinery or oil storage facility. There are only a few refineries in the UK, so many suppliers have to travel a considerable distance to collect oil before distributing it to their customers.

As many heating oil users live in remote, rural areas, this can also affect delivery costs, as the tankers have to travel further to get there. However, most suppliers make a conscious effort to reduce these costs, and many even offer a bulk-buy saving to customers who order on the same day in the same area, as this means that the delivery tanker can deliver these orders in one go rather than travelling back and forth over a number of days.

Currency Exchange Rates

As oil is sold in US Dollars, currency exchange rates have a big effect on the price of heating oil in the UK. If the exchange rate between British Pounds and US Dollars shifts, it could affect how much suppliers are paying for their supply, which in turn would affect domestic heating oil prices across the UK.

TIP: As currency rates can be influenced by many things (including political and economic events), it is a good idea to regularly check the market and keep an eye out for changes.

VAT Rates

VAT (also known as value-added tax) is a form of consumption tax that is added to many of the things we use in day-to-day life. Currently, domestic heating oil has a reduced VAT rate of 5%, while heating oil that is used for business purposes (e.g. for agriculture or construction) is generally subject to a standard VAT rate of 20%. The last VAT shift was in January 2011 (from 17.5% to 20%), but if it rises again in the future this could affect heating oil prices.

Crude Oil Prices

As heating oil is a by-product of crude oil, changes in the crude oil market have a huge influence on heating oil prices. If the barrel price of crude increases or decreases, this directly influences how much suppliers will have to pay for their oil supply, which in turn affects the cost of heating oil.

OPEC

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), is an international organization made up of several prominent oil-producing countries. As a large portion of the world’s crude oil reserves are controlled by these countries, this organisation has the ability to influence the production of oil, which can affect supply levels and prices on a global scale.

For example, if OPEC decided to drop their prices to undercut gas rates, there would be a surplus of oil at a low price. On the other hand, if they stopped oil production over a peak period when demand was high, suppliers may struggle to source their oil and heating oil prices could increase.

Did You Know?: OPEC currently consists of Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, and Angola.

Conflict in Oil-producing Countries

As crude oil prices have a large influence on heating oil prices, anything that causes those prices to increase can result in higher heating oil costs for customers in the UK. This includes anything that may impact the production or transportation of oil supplies, such as war, conflict, oil spills or natural disasters.

What to Look out For: Any major disruption in countries related to OPEC, as well as other oil-producing countries such as Norway, China, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and the US.

UK Heating Oil Prices Drop to 5 Year Low!

As the price of crude oil continues to plummet, we take a look at how declines have lead to an incredible 5 year low for home heating oil users.

UK Heating Oil Price Trends in 2014

oil price comparison 2015

Heating oil prices continued to decrease throughout 2014, culminating in a 5 year price low towards the end of December. Declines in the barrel price of brent, combined with a surplus of oil and mild weather conditions saw our average UK price fall in line with the crude market, dropping 23.44% year on year (that’s an average saving of £70.45 per 500 litre order!).

Comparison: Average Petrol, Kerosene and Crude Oil Prices for 2014

Comparison: Percentage Change for Oil Prices in 2014

Heating Oil ‘Cheapest’ Fuel for Off Grid Homes

Following fantastic prices over autumn, OFTEC released a report in November 2014 naming heating oil as the cheapest fuel for off grid homes.

The article stated that, according to the Sutherland Tables, an independent source on domestic heating prices in the UK, homeowners using heating oil paid on average, 12% less in 2014 than they had over the past four years, with houses running on heating oil costing homeowners roughly 40% less than LPG and 26% less than electricity-powered systems.

Jeremy Hawksley, director general of OFTEC, stated: “With this in mind, these latest figures should provide much comfort to off-gas grid households using oil who can be assured they are choosing the least expensive fuel option. In fact heating is the only fuel to have fallen in price over the past three years.”

What Affects UK Heating Oil Prices?

Although changes in the crude oil market have a large influence on Kerosene prices, there are several factors that contribute to fluctuations in home heating oil prices across the UK.

These include: