USEFUL RESOURCES
÷ OPEC.ORG The Opec (the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) website includes a ‘Publications’ section containing useful material about oil, such as a monthly market oil report. This covers major issues affecting the world oil market and provides an outlook for crude oil market developments for the coming year, the World Oil Outlook — which offers Opec’s medium- to long-term outlook for the global oil market, and a statistics bulletin that provides an insight into oil and gas reserves around the world.
THEAA.IE/AA/MOTORING-ADVICE/COSTOF-MOTORING.ASPX This is a link to the Automobile Association’s breakdown of the cost of motoring. It includes tips on how to reduce the cost of driving — and has a good breakdown of the costs involved in running a car. On the ‘Fuel prices’ link you can find the average cost of a litre of petrol or diesel.
PUMPS.IE This website is worth checking if you drive long distances regularly, as it outlines the petrol and diesel prices charged by various garages around the country — and so should help you find some of the cheaper service stations. It also gives up-to-date average petrol and diesel prices.
CSO.IE/EN/RELEASESANDPUBLICATIONS/ER/CPI/CONSUMERPRICEINDEXDECEMBER2017/ This is a link to the latest official inflation figures published by the Central Statistics Office. It shows that some of the biggest price increases over the last year were in electricity, gas and other fuels — as well as transport. The links at the end of this page allow you to pull up a more detailed breakdown of the items that have gone up, or down, in price.
SEAI.IE/SUSTAINABLE-SOLUTIONS/ ENERGY-SAVING-TIPS/ Becoming more energy-efficient is one way to protect yourself against higher oil prices as it should reduce your energy consumption — and in turn, your bills. This link, which is from the website of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), offers advice on how to make your home more energy efficient. This webpage also includes a link to details of the SEAI’s grants, including the ‘Better Energy’ home grants, which can help with the cost of insulating your home — or getting solar heating.
SWITCHER.IE This price-comparison website allows you to search for the best gas and electricity deals — as well as the cheapest suppliers for broadband, TV and phone. Another useful price comparison website is bonkers.ie.
ESB.IE/OUR-BUSINESSES/ECARS/ BENEFITS-OF-ECARS Electric or hybrid cars can help to reduce — or eliminate — your fuel costs. This link, which is on the website of Electric Ireland, outlines the advantages of electric cars. It also gives a list of the electric cars available. You can also find out where the charging points are for electric cars by clicking the ‘Charge Point Map’ link on this page.