THERE are fears households could be left without fuel over the festive period, with companies struggling to cope with demand.

Dwyfor Meirionnydd, MP Liz Saville Roberts and MS Mabon ap Gwynfor said they are concerned for their constituents after hearing of the difficulties many of them are having trying to order fuel from companies including Certas Energy, Calor Gas and Flogas, urging them to get to grips with severe delays. Some customers have been put on hold for hours, and promised call-backs that never materialise. Others have allegedly been locked out of their online account whilst trying to place an order.

Mrs Saville Roberts said: “I have been contacted by several constituents who throughout last week have been unable to contact fuel distributor Certas Energy, to order their oil supply before the Christmas holidays. Others have ordered oil, but it has not been delivered as promised. Certas Energy customers report being left on hold for hours without anyone answering, then leaving a contact telephone number but no one calls them back.

“Others have attempted to order online only to find their account has been locked. This is causing great inconvenience for my constituents who are finding it impossible to elicit any information from the company.

“I have already been in touch with Certas Energy to inform them of these problems and have urged them to redouble efforts to fulfil their order commitments. The very least they can do is keep customers informed of the situation.”

Mr ap Gwynfor MS added: “We are hearing of problems with other suppliers such as Calor Gas and Flogas, with reports of fuel bottles being in low supply, aggravated by a sharp rise in demand following the recent cold snap. Our office has been assured by Certas that vulnerable customers are being prioritised.

“It is of the utmost importance that these energy distributors maintain a clear and open line of communication with their customers - people have a right to know where they stand in terms of the status of their orders. We will be monitoring the situation closely.”

A spokesperson for Certas Energy said recent cold weather “created a huge spike in demand for heating oil”.

“Many customers also waited later to place their first winter order because of record mild weather in autumn. This has put a strain on distributors - exacerbated by hazardous driving conditions in some areas - and caused delays in getting heating oil to some customers.

“Our drivers and operations teams are doing all they can to meet this surge in orders and are delivering fuel as quickly as they can. Our telephone lines are taking calls across Wales.”

A Calor spokesperson said: “The recent prolonged cold spell has seen an increase in fuel usage and this demand is resulting in higher than normal call volumes that is taking our teams longer than usual to answer. We apologise to our customers.”

Flogas has also been asked to comment.­