Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will introduce a price cap on heating oil.

The Government has carefully considered the introduction of a price cap to help heating oil customers with high fuel prices. However, the Government’s analysis indicates that a cap would not be in the long-term interests of consumers.

The existing gas and electricity price cap was designed to protect consumers on default tariffs from the loyalty penalty, which the Competitions and Markets Authority warned was causing customers to be overcharged. The structure of the heating oil market is different and imposing a price cap below wholesale costs would drive companies out of the market, reducing competition and possibly result in supply shortages.