Oil distributors call to get prepared for bad weather

Oil distribution industry trade association, FPS (Federation of Petroleum Suppliers) is urging homeowners and businesses who use oil for heating to get themselves prepared for winter now as forecasters have warned that a 'big freeze' could begin by early December - and we could be facing one of the coldest winters for more than a decade.

The Met Office has already briefed the Government to prepare for a colder than average winter with temperatures expected to drop significantly at the end of November, at which time ice and frost are likely to cause transport problems and there will be a significant risk of heavy snow.

Oil Distributors across the country are urging their customers to check their oil levels and oil tanks and not to be caught out by the bad weather that is forecast.

Chief Executive of the FPS, Mark Askew comments: “We launched a buy oil early campaign in September in association with the Government and Consumer agencies, ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), Citizens Advice Bureau and Consumer Focus but many people still haven’t heeded our advice. We are urging people not to leave it to the last minute when the bad weather has taken hold and tanker drivers struggle to get through on roads covered in snow or ice.

Our members remind customers that they should order early, but people have got into a pattern of ordering the minimum quantity. Customers have had a trend of ordering 500 litres and then run out in the middle of the worst weather, when tanker drivers just can’t get to them. We are trying to educate people to think ahead and be prepared.

In winter, the UK can also experience shortages of heating oil at terminals. Demand is obviously governed by the weather and a prolonged cold snap, such as the Met Office is forecasting, means that the terminals are unable to provide product quickly enough and consumers can run out whilst waiting for deliveries as distributors have to go further afield to get supplies.”