Stay Informed With HeatingSave | Page 19

Concerns are growing that more and more people are going to be pushed into fuel poverty this winter. This was likely to have happened because of the rising cost of fuel but has been accelerated by the recession and in particular the sudden and increasing rise in unemployment. Some sources say this will affect hundreds of thousands more households.

The increased cost in home heating recently as EDF Energy and British Gas put up their prices has not been equal across the UK, with some areas seeing bigger increases than others. Both companies claim that costs such as transportation have increased dramatically and in some cases now accounts for around 14% of the average central heating fuel bill.

As we told you on this site in August, nobody in the northern hemisphere is using heating oil in summer, so it was not surprising the price of oil slumped to below $100 a barrel last week amid fears of a world trade slowdown and low demand. However, yesterday saw the biggest one-day jump in the price of oil, going up by over $16 to finish at more than $120 a barrel, the biggest one-day jump ever recorded.

Scottish Power and Npower  have followed the other utility companies with massive price rises in gas and electricity, with gas up by around 34% and 26 %  respectively and electricity by 9% and 14%. All price rises are effective as of this week and neither firm has ruled out further price increases citing increased wholesale prices as the reason for the large increases. 

Crude oil prices were on the rise again yesterday, trading above $100 a barrel. Prices had dropped significantly after the summer peak of $147. It is thought that the slowdown in global economic activity and the increased output from countries like Saudi Arabia had been the main reasons for the decline; coupled with low demand during the summer months for heating oil.

Gas and electricity prices in Britain have climbed twice as fast as the European Union average, according to new figures released on Wednesday. Gas and electricity rose by 29.7% in the past year, compared with a 15% increase for the EU. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) statistics showed that German customers experienced a 12.2 percent price increase while their French counterparts saw their energy bills shoot up by 14 percent.

The major suppliers of energy have told the regulator Ofgem that there is “little chance” of them reducing energy bills this winter. (of course we all know that when they say this they really mean, no chance) Energy firms say that their costs, excluding the price of the energy itself, have risen steeply and that it is for this reason that prices will not come down; despite an anticipated decrease in wholesale energy costs.

Going to a music festival this year? Well, attending a traditional mass mecca of peace and love such as Glastonbury has been shown, ironically, to do more damage to the eco-system. That is why ten UK music festivals have pledged to cut their emissions by 10 per cent in 2010.

World oil prices have recovered due to a number of factors. Some have cited the easing of European flight delays following the volcanic ash spewing from Iceland and the Goldman Sachs fraud saga. However, the main reason is the economic rebound of China. This is good news for oil exporters but bad news for under-fire UK users who use are suffering from a stagnant economy and a falling pound sterling. If you are a business or householder with an out-of-date central heating system you might well be reeling with the high cost of fuel.

Utilities firm Npower has admitted it had not communicated well the changes it made to charges, and now 1.8m people are to receive an average refund of £35 in one of the biggest pay-outs of its kind. Npower says it will write to all those affected over the next two months, even if they are no longer customers.

There is currently zero confidence in BP following the fiasco when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank on the 20th of April after an explosion, killing 11 workers. Deepwater Horizon has become the United States’ largest oil spill in history – an estimated equivalent of 528,000 to 836,000 barrels spilled.

The global price of oil has a direct impact on the amount that UK home-owners pay for their fuel and energy. With a 70% price rise of oil in the past year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced concerns that the price of oil could bring instability to global economic recovery. This may have a direct impact on the prices that you pay for fuel and energy in your home.