1,000-litre heating voucher call for off-grid Welshpool households
Plaid Cymru estimates that up to 55% of homes in Powys are not connected to the mains gas grid, and the call for action has been taken to Westminster on the county’s behalf by Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake, Member of Parliament for Ceredigion where up to 74% of properties are ‘off line’. The Wales average is 19%.
The proposed scheme would allow households to purchase 1,000 litres of heating oil or equivalent volume of liquid propane gas (LPG) which would reflect a “commensurate level of support” to that provided for households connected to the mains gas grid.
During the mini-budget in September, the Conservative Government revealed proposals for a £100 payment to support households reliant on heating oil – a sum which has been described by Cefin Campbell, Plaid Cymru regional Member of the Senedd for Mid & West Wales as “pitiful”.
Households not connected are reliant on alternative heating sources including oil, biomass and LPG gas – which, unlike electricity, are not subject to a price cap, and therefore liable to fluctuating prices.
At current prices, a voucher worth 1,000 litres of heating oil (the predominant source of heating for off-gas-grid homes in Wales) would cost £890.90.
Certas Energy estimates that the average household in the UK uses around 27,000 kWh of energy per year, which equates to around 1,800 litres of heating oil. A thousand litres would therefore be enough, Plaid Cymru claims, to support most families using heating oil through the winter and should be replicated next year if prices have not fallen.
Mr Campbell MS, who previously called on the Welsh Government to provide greater support for off-grid households said: “As winter approaches, and the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, it’s clear rural households across Powys are likely to be disproportionally impacted by surging heating prices.
“The Tories in Westminster have detailed their plan to help households connected to the mains gas grid, but we still await clarity on the pitiful £100 support payment that will be offered to those not connected to the mains gas grid. Meanwhile, in Powys many households will also fall short of the necessary criteria to gain additional fuel support announced by the Welsh Government.
“As many families face the unenviable choice between heating and eating, now is the time for the UK Government to pull-up their socks and act to support rural off-grid households, and such offering of a 1,000-litre voucher would provide comfort and support to so many at a time of growing uncertainty.”
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