Diesel now approaching £2 per litre in parts of Northern Ireland as fuel costs rise for a sixth straight week
Motorists have now suffered a sixth straight week of fuel price hikes since the Iran war began, with the Consumer Council now quoting prices not far off £2 per litre of diesel in places.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Deborah Erskine said that the pressure now mounting on rural constituencies like hers is “unsustainable,” and repeated her party’s call for government action – a call echoed by UUP deputy leader Diana Armstrong and Alliance deputy Eoin Tennyson.
For those who depend on oil to heat their homes, the picture has also become slightly worse in the past seven days: the cost of filling up a 900-litre tank now averages at £1,088.71, as of today.
These figures all stem from the weekly province-wide survey of prices done by the independent government body the Consumer Council.
Its latest update comes as rumours circulate about possible protests in Northern Ireland over the rising costs at the pump.
The Consumer Council samples prices across 28 different towns and cities in Northern Ireland.
On February 26, the last such survey before the Iran war was launched, it found that petrol cost an average of 124.8p per litre in Northern Ireland, and diesel cost 132.6p per litre.
As of today, petrol stood at 153.1ppl, and diesel stood at 185.6ppl.
A week earlier, on April 2, petrol had been 149.1ppl. and diesel 177.8ppl.
In other words, petrol is up by 2.6% in a week, and 22.6% since the start of the war.
Meanwhile diesel is up by 4.3% in a week, and 39.9% since the start of the war.
These are average prices across Northern Ireland – as ever, they mask the regional extremes.
For example, the highest diesel price that the Consumer Council encountered was in Armagh: 196.9ppl.
The second highest was in Enniskillen: 195.9ppl.
The most expensive petrol it found was at a station in Magherafelt: 163.9ppl.
The second-most expensive petrol was found in Cookstown: 159.9ppl.
The Consumer Council does not sample red diesel, but a website called boilerjuice.com does.
It was quoting an average price in Northern Ireland of 119.47ppl as of today.
That is up from 72.03ppl before the war began – a rise of 65.8%.
The pump price rises are still slightly below the highs at the time the Ukraine war broke out, though.
At that time, petrol hit an average of 189.9ppl in Northern Ireland, and diesel hit 197.2ppl – though this time the spike has been sharper.
Mrs Erskine told the News Letter “rural communities are being asked to shoulder a disproportionate burden”.
She said: “With average fuel prices in Enniskillen now reaching £1.90 per litre, the pressure on households and workers across Co Fermanagh is becoming unsustainable.
“People here depend on their cars for work and daily life. There is no alternative, yet they are being hammered at the pump...
“For those travelling daily to Belfast for work, this represents a significant increase in outgoings, eating directly into household budgets.
“A commuter filling up twice a week with a typical 50-litre tank of diesel is now paying around £220 more every month compared to this time last year when diesel was closer to £1.35 per litre.
“These are not luxury journeys, they are essential.”
She said that “green taxation and unrealistic net zero policy decisions” are driving up costs, adding: “The Treasury must act.”
Ms Armstrong, also an MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, said: “The latest Consumer Council figures make for deeply uncomfortable reading.
“As I have said previously, it is time for the government to wake up and smell the coffee at the pumps.”
She also noted the soaring heating oil costs, and that there had also been recent electricity price hikes (26.4% by Share Energy, and 9.5% by Click Energy), adding that: “Families are being hit from every direction at once.”
She restated her party’s call for a cut in fuel duty.
Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson meanwhile said: “Short-term fuel duty relief is a practical step that could be taken to provide immediate help to those struggling with the rising cost of filling their cars.”
According to the Consumer Council, these are the current average prices of home heating oil:
300 litres: £382.97
500 litres: £612.37
900 litres: £1,088.71
Before the war, they stood at:
300 litres: £202.12 (up 89.4%)
500 litres: £307.38 (up 99.2%)
900 litres: £536.72 (up 102.9%).