My wife and I are pensioners and live in a village in Cornwall which has no mains gas, therefore the choice for heating is either oil or LPG (liquid petroleum gas). We opted for the latter but not only have we found it expensive but the industry, serviced by very few providers and the subject of some damning criticism from the Competition Commission, has been pretty deaf to entreaties about pricing.
Many of our neighbours were paying less than the whopping 55.45p a litre we were being charged by our provider, Flogas, despite living in similarly sized houses. When we asked for a reduction we were told the price difference was because we don’t use enough. We are staggered by the premise that if you burn more fuel and contribute more pollution you will pay less.
I have tried without success to get the LPG industry’s umbrella body to react. I approached Calor, one of the few other companies in this business, which seems vague about its pricing policy – though it did offer to slash 20p a litre off if I switched supplier, something I cannot do since I am halfway through a two-year contract. Whatever happened to green energy policy? JD, Cornwall
According to the LPG industry’s trade body, UKLPG, companies are free to set their own pricing policy. The industry standard requires customers to commit to a fixed-term contract generally lasting two years. Under competition rules it cannot be longer, but the idea is to help the company recoup significant up-front costs, including – as you point out in your case – the installation of a storage tank. Flogas says the price it charges customers is fixed at the outset for part or all of the contract period.
This, in theory, allows companies such as Flogas to mitigate fluctuations in the wholesale price which can be quite dramatic (for instance, spikes caused by the Russia/Ukraine gas transit dispute). But it seems bonkers you are being penalised for not using enough.
Flogas tells us: “We worked to resolve this by placing JD on a price tariff reflecting the average price for other customers in his area for the remainder of his contract. At Flogas, we will always listen to our customers to look for a fair outcome. To this end, we have been in contact with JD again with a goodwill gesture to ensure that he is happy with his service.” Calling you “happy” may be over-egging it – shop around when your contract is coming up for renewal.
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