CEREDIGION will see the highest increase in fuel bills in the UK and more has to be done, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have warned, as they called on the UK Conservative Government to instruct Ofgem to extend the energy price cap to cover heating oil.

Off-the-grid households - of which there are many in rural mid and north Wales - that rely on heating oil instead of gas or electric heating are seeing “rapid and astronomical rises”, the party said, but the energy price cap currently doesn’t apply for them.

In the past fortnight, heating oil prices have risen from an already high 66.74 pence per litre to 148.25 pence per litre, driven in part by the conflict in Ukraine.

1.5 million households in the UK are powered by oil, while rural parts of mid, west and north Wales are “particularly vulnerable to the problem,” Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds, who represents the rural Mid & West Wales Region in the Senedd said.

Figures show that in Ceredigion, more than 33 per cent of homes rely on oil heating and a previous analysis by the Welsh Liberal Democrats indicates Ceredigion will see the highest increase in fuel bills in the mainland UK.

The picture is similar in other parts of Wales including Powys, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire and Gwynedd.

“As a rural MS, I am all too aware of the many day-to-day costs that my constituents must face compared to their urban counterparts,” Ms Dodds said.

“It is indefensible that they are now facing even steeper bills as the result of being forgotten about by a London-centric Conservative Party yet again.

“I would urge the Government to urgently reconsider its position and to put in place financial protection for consumers of heating oil, equivalent to the existing energy price cap on gas and electricity.

“Many of my constituents are already being forced to make the choice between heating or eating, the Government must take action to protect them.”

The party has also demanded an emergency cut to VAT to “protect families from soaring bills and the worsening cost of living crisis.”

The party has proposed reducing the standard rate of VAT from 20 per cent to 17.5 per cent for one year, a move that they say would put an average of £600 back into the pockets of Welsh families.

The calls comes amid warnings that the war in Ukraine will worsen the cost-of-living pressures facing households, with energy, food and fuel bills all expected to rise further, with inflation forecast to reach eight per cent in April.

“An emergency cut to VAT is desperately needed for the hundreds of thousands of Welsh people worried about making ends meet,” Ms Dodds said.

“This is a once-in-a-generation crisis, and the government must step up to help struggling households and businesses on the brink.”