Joining forces to help cut bills
New heating oil group starts in Alyth
A new initiative is being launched in Alyth this week to help those in the area who use oil heating with the rising cost of energy bills.
Alyth Development Trust (ADT) is sponsoring a new Alyth Heating Oil Buying Group, which will work with Johnston Oils – a supplier of heating oil and commercial and agricultural fuel across Scotland and northern England.
The buying group will enable individual consumers to join together and buy their heating oil in bulk, reducing their fuel costs and also helping the environment by allowing Johnston Oils to plan more efficient delivery routes.
The company already manages around 180 community heating oil clubs, helping thousands of households to save money in the process.
Under the scheme, which is modelled on existing set-ups in the Mount Blair and Auchterhouse areas, Johnston Oils will collate orders, process invoices to individual members, and deliver the oil.
Customers taking part in the project would have the opportunity to buy oil on a monthly basis, with the dates for ordering and delivery publicised well in advance.
Minimum orders are for 500 litres but there is no requirement to order every month, customers are able to order as and when they need to.
Interested residents are invited to join an email list which will also alert them to when the ordering and delivery deadlines are.
Orders are then placed directly with Johnston Oils as and when required by the customers.
The first orders are to be placed this week – before Friday, October 14 – with deliveries scheduled for the following week.
And a spokesperson for the development trust said that, depending on the number of households taking part and the average purchase per household, the scheme could offer significant savings.
The spokesperson said: “The main advantage the group brings is that we hope to provide the best available price for most customers without customers having to shop around for the best price – we hope that buying as a group we will get the best available price.
“To a certain extent you need to plan ahead a little – since the next opportunity to order will be four or five weeks away – but you will get a monthly prompt, and because the minimum order is 500 litres you don’t need to wait until your tank is empty to get a bigger order and better price.
“The pricing and ordering process is very simple (after the first order) so there will be less need to put it off to the following month.
“You can register with the group to receive monthly price emails and compare with your existing supplier for as long as you like with no requirement to order from the group.
“And you will not be tied to the group in any way. You can order once then not order for a while, then order again as your please.”
For further information, to sign up to the mailing list or to join in the scheme, send an email to oilbuying@ alyth.online.