# Regulate the heating oil sector

> “Today I can confirm that this government is taking forward proposals to regulate the heating oil sector for the first time. We will strengthen consumer rights and ensure a fairer deal for off-grid households.”
>
> — Polly Billington, Minister for Energy Consumers, Labour Party; Written ministerial statement, 13 October 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Transport & economy](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/transport-and-economy)
- **Speaker:** [Polly Billington](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/polly-billington), Minister for Energy Consumers
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 13 October 2026
- **Where:** Written ministerial statement
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** The 1.5 million households across the UK who rely on heating oil, many in rural and off-grid communities
- **When:** Not stated
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-13/HCWS366 (checked word for word on 16 October 2026; Open Parliament Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 16 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-regulate-heating-oil-2026

## Where it stands

The statement is the government's response to the Competition and Markets Authority's market study of the heating oil sector, published in July. The CMA found gaps in consumer protection compared with gas and electricity users: weaker rights when things go wrong, limited redress, less price transparency and less support for vulnerable households. The minister says the government will develop options for regulation with Ofgem, the devolved governments, industry and consumer representatives, that this "will take time", and gives no date. The card moves when proposals for regulation or legislation are published.

## Timeline

- 13 October 2026, Promised: The energy consumers minister says the government is taking forward proposals to regulate the heating oil sector for the first time

## About the cost

No cost has been published.

## Sources

- [Written ministerial statement HCWS366, 13 Oct 2026: Competition and Market Authority's Heating Oil Market Study: Government Response](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-13/HCWS366)

## Checks

- Checked automatically by AI Journalist, not yet verified by an editor.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 16 October 2026.

---

LedgerGov.UK's own writing (headlines, status notes, cost notes, summaries) is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse it, crediting LedgerGov.UK with a link to the card. Official figures are under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) unless their source says otherwise; quotes from Parliament under the [Open Parliament Licence v3.0](https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/); other quotes are short extracts whose rights stay with the speaker. How the numbers and statuses are made: https://ledgergov.uk/method.