Wales' national oil company Oil 4 Wales has launched a new scheme which will deliver free heating oil to its elderly customers. The Carmarthenshire-headquartered fuel supplier will offer a one-off delivery of 800 litres of oil to its customers aged 80 years old or over.
Oil 4 Wales said it has budgeted £75,000 to undertake the scheme which it will review if it looks like this will exceed.
The exact amount of customers to benefit from the offer is unknown, although Welsh Government figures confirm around 10% of households in Wales, or around 130,000 properties, rely on oil central heating. The majority of these properties are in rural areas where housing is older, less well insulated, and heating costs are a third more expensive.
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This offer will run from October until March 2023 and will be exclusively for those who have been customers of Oil 4 Wales for at least two years. It is in response to the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy bills.
Sally Williams, who has taken over as managing director from father Colin Owens, said: "First we had the COVID-19 pandemic, which had such a devastating effect on everyone, especially the vulnerable community, and now we have the exponential rise in energy bills to tackle.
"This is Oil 4 Wales’ chance to once again look after our customers and give something back. In light of this current landscape and now that the coldest months of the year are upon us it is even more vital that the community pulls together and supports each other."
She added: "With the cost-of-living crisis placing increased money anxieties on our community it is ever more crucial to act on our mission to ‘work with the community, for the community.’ I am extremely passionate about limiting the impact of expensive energy bills on our customers and this scheme is one of the ways we can help.
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"Following a government report highlighting that there were 2,000 excess winter deaths in Wales 2019 / 2020 due to living in cold, less energy efficient housing, I remain committed to limiting these preventable losses going forward and Oil 4 Wales will help in whichever way it can."
The leading independent oil and fuel supplier, Oil 4 Wales has depots in Carmarthen, Cardiff, Brecon, Milford Haven, Felinfach, Powys and Blaenau Ffestiniog and supplies home heating, business and agricultural contracts, fuel cards, tanks, and maintenance services.
The supplier has made several fuel donations in the last two years including 500 litres to local residents who care for their child with Moto Neurone disease following a request from Carmarthenshire Council.
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