Heating oil customers have yet to see supplies return to normal following the last white-out, prompting MPs representing rural areas to call for emergency measures to ensure that consumers do not experience a cold Christmas.
Charles Hendry, the Energy Minister, said that ministers would work with suppliers to ration supplies to make sure that customers could get through the festive period, and confirmed that the outlook was potentially very serious.
The Government also relaxed the rules on the number of hours lorry drivers are permitted to be on the road, allowing them to continue making deliveries for longer.
Mr Hendry told MPs: People are calling up today who reckon they are going to be short over the coming weeks and are being told they are not going to be getting a delivery of oil for three or four weeks.
We are extremely aware that if there is further snow over Christmas, this situation could become very serious indeed.
I have spoken to the Office of Fair Trading about the price of oil, as the enforcement of competition consumer law is a matter for them.
They have assured me that they are keeping a very close eye on the situation and are keen to receive evidence from members about any market abuse they are experiencing.
But Labours Tom Watson urged the Government to step up its response to what he described as a supply crisis, adding: Members have said there is a shortage of supply of oil, their constituents are going cold, schools and hospitals are losing out. We obviously have an oil supply crisis.
【雅思阅读:英圣诞或面临燃料定额窘境】相关文章:
最新
2016-02-26
2016-02-26
2016-02-26
2016-02-26
2016-02-26
2016-02-26