Concern grows as 1,000 litres of home heating oil prices hit £1,300 in Northern Ireland

This comes amid growing concern for those close to the poverty line as energy prices, the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, and sharp inflation more generally continues to put pressure on household bills

The snapshot of prices, from around 10 suppliers spread across Northern Ireland, reveals that significant variation remains between companies and geography within the region.

Prices below £1,100 for 1,000 litres could not be found by the News Letter on Sunday afternoon.

A distributor based in Carryduff was offering a ‘discount’ price of £1,150 for a delivery in Belfast.

A Londonderry supplier, which also provides deliveries across the border in Co Donegal, was offering prices of £1,198 for its Northern Ireland customers yesterday.

In Bangor, one supplier was offering 1,000 litres delivered for £1,176 while in Ballymena prices were similar with a popular supplier offering a price of £1,198.

The highest price found during the News Letter’s snapshot was from a company covering the Tandragee, Portadown, Banbridge, Markethill and Fintona, and Belfast areas which offered a price of £1,365 for an ‘emergency’ delivery or £1,360 with a slightly longer waiting time.

The rise in the price of home heating oil has been mirrored by price rises for other energy sources.

Average fuel prices varied in Northern Ireland from a high of 186.9 pence per litre of diesel in Craigavon, to a low of 153.9p per litre of diesel in Newtownabbey – according to the latest figures from the Northern Ireland Consumer Council’s weekly price tracker, published each Thursday.

The energy cost increases, coupled with price rises for food and other essentials, have prompted concern that some could be pushed into poverty.

The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Rt Rev Dr David Bruce, spoke of his concern in a radio interview with the BBC on Sunday.

“Anybody who has been trying to fill their car with diesel in the past few days will know that it’s edging into uncharted territory, towards £2 per litre,” he said.

“The reasons for this, along with general inflationary pressures in our economy, are not just what we’ve been witnessing in the last couple of weeks in Ukraine and Russia and the tragic events there, but are probably a fold-out from Brexit, the protocol, Covid and other pressures that have been brought to bear on the world economy.

“We recognise that with inflation and with interest rates heading in an upward direction, this has an impact on the quality of life and the spending power — particularly for the poor and those who have therefore less resources to rely upon.”

He continued: “We feel, as a church, that it’s our duty , our responsibility and our desire to draw alongside folks who are feeling those pressures, to advocate on their behalf to government but also to provide some practical responses at a local level if we can.”

Pauline Brown, regional co-ordinator of the charity St Vincent De Paul, said the number of people her organisation has been helping has been “increasing every day”.