'Rural families need green energy support'

A woman who uses heating oil to power her rural home has called for more support for those not connected to a gas network to access more environmentally-friendly sources of energy.

Jemma McCarron lives in a barn conversion in Hanley Swan, Worcestershire, and said the price of oil had doubled, causing financial worries over the coming months.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said there was "price gouging" in the market and some heating oil companies were using the Middle East crisis as "an opportunity to rip off consumers".

She is set to meet with MPs on Wednesday to discuss the problems facing consumers who are not protected by the energy price cap.

McCarron lives with her husband, 18-year-old daughter, and her mother who is in her 70s.

With no gas supply, heating oil has been an "essential component" to warming the home and water.

She last purchased enough oil to fill her 2,000-litre tank in mid-February for £1,200, but now fears what lies ahead.

McCarron told BBC Hereford and Worcester: "The only thing that we can do to protect ourselves against these kinds of dramatic changes in oil prices is to become less dependent on oil and move towards environmentally-friendly sources of energy.

"I've been quite disappointed with the lack of support for people who want to make those changes, we've looked into heat sourcing, ground source pumps, air source pumps and solar panels and there is a little bit of support but it's very minimal."

The global oil price reached nearly $120 (£89) a barrel on Monday, a four-year high, though it has since fallen. The jump was sparked by fears of a lengthy disruption to supplies caused by the war.

There is no cap to limit the cost of heating oil in the way households benefit from regulator Ofgem's price cap on gas and electricity bills.

McCarron added: "You have to always have a contingency fund but we wouldn't have expected it to go up that quickly. It will mean having to make budgetary choices elsewhere and will have a noticeable impact on our finances.

"We'll have to be mindful that in September we may be looking at having to spend twice as much to fill the tank up because I don't see the prices coming down in a sustained way."

Speaking in the House of Commons, the Green MP for North Herefordshire, Ellie Chowns, criticised suppliers for profiting from the uncertainty.

She told MPs: "The last time energy prices went through the roof due to illegal international aggression in 2022, normal people paid the price while huge energy giants raked in billions of pounds in windfall profit."