Peterborough area households face bill for thousands to replace oil heating systems with greener alternatives

Rural homeowners in the area could face huge costs to install greener heating systems according to a heating industry trade association.

As part of the UK’s strategy to tackle climate change, consumers will be encouraged to replace fossil fuel heating systems with electric heat pumps at an average cost of over £10,000 to install.

Oil heated households in Cambridgeshire will be amongst those targeted first, according to OFTEC, which represents the liquid fuel heating industry.

The Government is already consulting on proposals to offer £4,000 ‘Clean Heat Grants’ to help supplement the cost of heat pumps, and in limited cases, biomass heating systems.

However, this still leaves a £6,000 shortfall for installation alone which many consumers will not be able to afford, especially during a post pandemic recession claims the trade body.

OFTEC has written to all rural MPs to highlight the issue and is urging oil heated households across Cambridgeshire to raise the issue with their own local MP.

Resources to do this are available at OFTEC’s website www.oftec.org/future-heating

Malcolm Farrow of OFTEC explains: “We know that rural households are already more likely to be in fuel poverty and face the largest fuel poverty gap. Many also fall into the low to middle income bracket with little or no savings.

“These financially stretched homeowners are struggling to pay their existing bills, so there is no way they will be able to fund expensive green heating systems such as heat pumps, particularly post Covid-19.

“Government should be backing more cost-effective options such as renewable liquid fuels which can provide a simple, drop in replacement for heating oil. Failing to do so will mean that rural households in particular continue to suffer and progress on climate change will continue to stall.”