Northern Ireland families are being urged to lock up their oil tanks after the cost of a pre-winter top up jumped £52 in a single day.
And people using gas are set to see annual bills pass the £1,000 mark as global costs rise.
The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland has warned households that oil thefts rise whenever prices spike, and advised householders to “consider securing their oil tanks with a lock; oil tank alarm; minimise tank visibility from a nearby road; install security lighting etc to deter opportunistic thieves”.
The comments come after the cost of a 900 litre oil delivery jumped by £52 in just 24 hours after tensions flared up again between the US and Iran.
Speaking to The Irish News on Wednesday, Raymond Gormley, head of energy policy at the Consumer Council, said the average price of a 900-litre fill rose £52 in 24 hours to £851, with 300 litres up £18 and 500 litres up £28 over the same period.
“That’s frightening,” he said.
“Compared to just before the war started, prices have gone up 54 percent – around £194 for a fill. They peaked in early April and came down very slowly all the way to July. Since the attacks resumed, it’s just gone up and up and up.”
Almost two thirds of homes in Northern Ireland rely on oil for heating.
At its April peak, a 900-litre fill cost £1,122, almost topping the £1,181 record set at the height of the Ukraine crisis in March 2022.
“We don’t want to be getting back to that number,” Mr Gormley said.
“Anything’s possible. We are really vulnerable here to volatile energy markets, and at the minute they are headline driven. When you see the attacks increasing, the price inevitably goes up.”
European gas prices also climbed to their highest level in more than three years on Wednesday.
However, the rising cost of wholesale gas, which has doubled since the war with Iran began, is already hitting customers in the pocket.
SSE Airtricity’s gas customers in Greater Belfast and the West are already facing a rise of around 19 percent, pushing the typical annual bill above £1,000.
Northern Ireland’s only other gas firm Firmus Energy is expected to announce a price review for customers in the Ten Towns network later this week, and The Irish News understands its Greater Belfast customers could also likely see prices go up.
Currently, Power NI’s typical annual electricity bill already stands at £1,093 after a rise earlier in the year, and with 30 percent of Northern Ireland’s electricity generated from gas, Mr Gormley said smaller electricity suppliers were “likely to put up their prices in the coming months if gas continues to increase”.
The price hikes come at a time when many families are already struggling amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Charity St Vincent de Paul revealed requests for help have more than doubled this year, with many working full-time but unable to heat their homes – and people who once donated to the charity now needing help.
The organisation’s Regional President Anne Irwin said requests for help jumped 126 percent in a single month when prices first spiked in the spring, and remain 106 percent higher than last year across January to August.
Calls for help with electricity have already risen 41 percent in August from people who could not afford to top up their meters for hot water.
“Energy is not just your electricity or your gas or your oil. It’s also the cost of food, because manufacturing and haulage costs have gone up. Everybody has to eat, and that leaves less and less money for everything else,” she said.
She said the charity was now seeing households that would never have expected to need it.
“Nurses who are travelling to hospitals keeping people alive come home and haven’t got the money at the end of the month to put food on the table, put a tank of oil in or fill up their gas meter.
“We have families where both people are working. Retail workers, people working in factories. Both working, kids at school, and when it comes to the end of the month they have little or no money to put food on the table or heat their home.”
Many of those now seeking help were previously in a position to support the charity.
“People who were very generous to us in the past just don’t have that money now,” Ms Irwin said.
“Many people we would have been getting help from are now finding they’re having to come to us, these aren’t just isolated cases.
“It is very difficult for a lot of people.”
Organisations including St Vincent De Paul and others are keen to point out that help is available for anyone struggling.
Advice NI, which supported more than 3,500 people struggling with a combined £42.8 million of debt last year, urged those under pressure to reach out early if possible for the best solutions.
Sinéad Campbell, the charity’s head of money, debt and quality, said: “It’s important people reach out early, as this gives our expert advisers the best chance of finding a solution.”
The Department for Communities is also offering a one-off £100 voucher for around 340,000 households who heat with oil and receive a qualifying benefit or earn under £30,000.
The scheme opens for applications on September 9 and runs until March 31.
In a statement, the Utility Regulator’s Head of security of supply and regulation policy development, Leigh Greer said the rises would be “difficult news for many households and small businesses”.
The Utility Regulator is planning to release an updated Consumer Energy Charter this year, with all suppliers committing to extra protections for consumers who may be in financial difficulty or struggling to pay bills.
Last year’s charter committed suppliers not to disconnect customers who stay in touch, not to move indebted customers onto prepayment meters without consent over December and January, and to cap new prepayment debt repayments at 20 percent.
Mr Gormley added: “Suppliers have told us they would rather people contact them than avoid making payment or avoid letters. They’re not there to take the money off you.
“If you’re struggling, reach out to the organisations that can provide assistance and advice. Have a look at the way you pay for your energy and see if you can save money by switching. And for oil customers, check our daily price checker, price around and take at least three quotes.”