Calls have been made for heating oil vouchers to be distributed to help off-grid households in Carmarthenshire.

It is estimated that 39 per cent of Carmarthenshire properties are currently not connected to the mains gas grid – compared to a Wales average of 19 per cent.

Such households 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.

Cefin Campbell, MS for Mid and West Wales, said: “As winter approaches, and the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, it’s clear rural households across Carmarthenshire are likely to be disproportionally impacted by surging heating prices. 

"But we still await clarity on the pitiful £100 support payment that will be offered to those not connected to the mains gas grid.

“In Carmarthenshire 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.

"A 1,000 litre voucher would provide comfort and support to so many at a time of growing uncertainty.”  

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Ben Lake, the MP for Ceredigion, added: “It is unacceptable that in an advanced economy such as that of the UK, thousands of families will be unable to afford to heat their homes this winter.

“Households that are not connected to the mains gas grid are mostly found in rural and deprived post-industrial areas of Wales.

“They already face higher costs due to poor insulation, poor transport infrastructure, and poor local amenities. To further punish those households with a substandard support package is immoral.”