Thousands of households across the Highlands face another expensive winter without the protection of the domestic energy price cap, prompting fresh demands for targeted financial support in this week’s UK Budget.
Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey MP Graham Leadbitter has written to the Chancellor ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, urging the UK Government to provide additional help for families relying on heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas.
Unlike households using mains gas and electricity, people heating their homes with oil or LPG are not protected by Ofgem’s energy price cap on those fuels.
The difference is particularly important in rural Scotland, where many homes have no connection to the mains gas network and residents have limited alternatives for heating their properties.
Figures cited by Leadbitter suggest that 44% of homes in his constituency were off the mains energy grid in 2024.
He argues that these households have been repeatedly overlooked when governments introduce measures intended to protect consumers from rising energy costs.
According to figures supplied by heating oil comparison service BoilerJuice, a household using 2,000 litres annually could face heating costs of approximately £2,592.
Leadbitter has compared that estimate with the current £1,723 annual energy price cap figure for a typical household using mains gas and electricity.
The figures are not directly comparable, however, because the oil estimate covers heating fuel while the price cap illustration includes both gas and electricity for a household with typical consumption.
Nevertheless, the absence of a comparable price cap for heating oil and LPG remains a concern for households exposed to fluctuations in fuel prices.
Leadbitter has now asked the Chancellor to address that difference.
In his letter, he said:
“Before you make your budget speech on Wednesday I want to reiterate my call for you to deliver more action to bring down the cost of energy.
“This Labour government has so far failed to take meaningful action to bring down the cost of living that continued to soar under your predecessor, Rachel Reeves.
“I hope on Wednesday you’ll take the opportunity to rectify that and finally deliver on your party’s promise to cut energy bills by £300 a year.
“But I want to also make a specific plea for targeted support for households who are reliant on heating oil and LPG to heat their homes.
“The energy price cap at £1,723 is already far too high, but off-grid households aren’t even covered by it and face even more exorbitant bills.
“According to BoilerJuice, at today’s price per litre of 123.43p (including 5% VAT) a home reliant on heating oil can expect to pay £2,592.03 a year for it.
“44% of homes in my constituency are off-grid, and in some Scottish constituencies that number is 100%.
“They deserve far better support, and far better treatment.
“For many people they have no idea how much they can expect to pay until their oil is delivered, leaving them with no way to financially plan.
“In previous budgets off-grid homes have been forgotten homes.
“I hope you won’t make the same mistakes as your predecessors.”
The concerns extend beyond Leadbitter’s constituency to rural and island communities throughout Scotland, where heating oil and LPG are widely used.
With winter approaching, the MP wants the Chancellor to recognise the additional pressures facing households whose heating costs are not covered by the same regulatory protections as mains energy customers.
Wednesday’s Budget will reveal whether the UK Government intends to introduce further assistance specifically for these households.
