More home costs misery as heating oil goes up 30%

FAMILIES face another hike in their bills after figures showed home heating oil has shot up by almost a third to an €725 for around three to five months’ supply.

This means that a fill of 1,000 litres of oil to cover winter heating – if ordered now – will be an extra €165 on top of last year’s price of €560.

A fill would last up to five months for heating a wellinsulated semi-detached home but this is cut to three months for pensioners who have the heating on a lot.

The hike – revealed in official figures released yesterday – adds to a long list of energy price rises hitting families.

Eight gas and electric firms have announced price rises while the ongoing dry weather may force up prices of vegetables, fruit and milk.

Home heating oil has jumped in price by 29.4% in the past 12 months, says the Central Statistics Office show.

Over the same time, a barrel of oil – which is priced in US dollars – has risen 60% in cost from $47 a year ago to $75 now.

Almost two-thirds of rural homes and more than a quarter of urban households use it to fire their central heating and water boilers, according to the Census.

Eoin Clarke, of price comparison site, switcher.ie, said: ‘In the past six weeks, we’ve had price increase announcements from eight-out-of-ten electricity and gas suppliers in the Irish energy market.

These range from 5.8%-9.38% for electricity and 4.7% to 12.8% for gas and will add up to €180 on to average dual-fuel customer’s annual bills.

‘Given the number of increases, and the suppliers involved, almost all households in Ireland are going to be impacted by at least one of these hikes when they come into effect.

‘If consumers don’t use this opportunity to switch and make some savings, they’ll really feel the impact of these hikes as their winter energy bills start coming in.’

Advising consumers to look around for the best prices, he added: ‘To top this off, the latest [CSO] Consumer Price Index shows a massive increase in the cost of home heating oil too, with prices up by almost 30% year-on-year.’

Daragh Cassidy, of price comparison website bonkers. ie, said: ‘To combat the increase in energy prices consumers should look at ways to reduce energy consumption.

‘Whether it’s installing energy-saving light bulbs or remembering to unplug appliances at night, there are lots of little things we can do.’

‘Almost all homes will be affected’

Families have been warned by the Irish Farmers’ Association to expect a hike in the costs of produce such as potatoes due to the drought.

And the price of Guinness and Smithwick’s has already increased by 2.3%, or 4c per pint. Other rises are being attributed to the tariffs on American goods coming into the EU – introduced as retaliation for US president Donald Trump’s tariffs on EU goods.