HOUSEHOLDS in Somerset will be facing increase in their heat bills. It is for the households that are not connected to the gas grid living in South Somerset, face a heating bill doubled up.

This is also due to the reason that  the Government deadline for banning oil and LPG boilers from 2026 draws near. According to leading energy trade body, the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) 11,691 households in South Somerset currently use an oil boiler to heat their home to reduce the energy prices.

In addition, according to EUA, the annual running cost of a heat pump is considerably more than an oil boiler – currently £360 a year more but without the Government’s price cap on electricity, that gap rockets to £1700 a year more.

Commenting on the heating bill double whammy, EUA’s Chief Executive said:

“This news will shock most families. Already struggling with the cost of living crisis, they now face being the easy prey to pay eye-watering costs. I genuinely do not believe families in South Somerset can afford either the upfront costs of buying a heat pump nor the higher annual bills.”

“It seems that families living in rural neighbourhoods, not connected to the gas grid, are easy prey to start forcing heat pumps onto. For those connected gas, hydrogen boilers were assumed to be the best solution to minimise disruption in the home.

"However, over the weekend Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh suggested in the Sunday Telegraph that he saw no place for homes in Yeovil to switch the gas and keep their boilers. Instead, they will also face the pain of finding £13,000 for a heat pump from 2035.”

“Heat pumps are a way of reducing carbon emissions but this comes at a price, currently a hefty one. Now is not the time to ban oil and LPG boilers. At the very least, treating rural households the same as their on gas grid counterparts is fair.

"Delaying the oil boiler ban until 2035 allows for alternatives such as bio-fuels to become established, allowing a low carbon boiler to stay in the home, or to see if the cost of heat pumps fall. Rural families should not be the guinea-pigs for the government’s heat pump experiment.”

“But at this stage, any MP backing heat pumps over hydrogen or biofuels must explain to their constituents where they will find the money to pay for these replacement heating appliances. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, it is very brave to tell those who voted for you they need to find £13,000 when their boiler breaks down."

From 2026, the Government plan a ban on it being replaced. Instead, they want homes to fit a heat pump, running on electricity.

The current cost of fitting a heat pump, according to the Government, is £13,000 compared to replacing an oil boiler for under £3000.