On 13 October 2026 the government promised better regulation of the heating oil market, after customers faced bills that had nearly doubled in a year.
Ministers said they would tighten the rules, promote competition, and give customers clearer routes to compensation when things go wrong. They will also review the industry practice of setting at 500 litres for some customers — more than many households need, since domestic tanks typically hold between 1,000 and 2,000 litres.
Campaigners, including the charity , want heating oil customers to get the same that covers standard gas and electricity tariffs in England, Scotland and Wales. There is , and no date for when the stricter rules will take effect.
The package addresses how the market treats customers, not what they pay. The cap demand is refused, so the bill stays where it is.
Prices rose after the US-Israeli war with began. In March 2026 the government announced a £53m support package for low-income families who use heating oil, distributed by local authorities that set their own eligibility rules. A later inquiry by the found that were forced to re-order at significantly higher prices or go without fuel, costing them up to £350.
The government has now said it will accept the CMA's recommendation to strengthen regulation. Energy minister Polly Billington said thousands of heating oil customers had felt they had nowhere to turn when they paid the price of rising oil and gas costs this year, and that energy is an essential good people should not have to think twice about being protected in.
Nick, a heating oil customer from West Suffolk, told the BBC that households remain a policy blind spot. He rents a three-bedroom home with his partner and said their quotes had more than doubled in a year, to 111p per litre. He wants tax cuts for customers, or the price cap extended to heating oil.
, chief executive of the price comparison site , said stronger protections were welcome but the main problem was that heating oil costs twice what it did before the war. Regulation alone will not cut the price, he said; he wants VAT removed from heating oil.
About 1.5 million households depend on heating oil and do not have the same protections as gas and electricity customers. , which sets the cap for standard variable tariffs, covers only England, Wales and Scotland. Most heating oil customers are in Northern Ireland, where rely on it and regulation is separate.
The reform is likely to land with Ofgem in England, Scotland and Wales — the smaller part of the market. The majority of heating oil households sit outside its reach.