Heating Oil Price NI: Back Above £1,000, Up £55 in a Week

Three weeks of falling oil prices in Northern Ireland ended abruptly this week, with the average 900 litre order going back over £1,000. A second cheap mini chainsaw, this one listed for sale through Amazon, has been turned away at the UK border, and the Stove Industry Association has used the October rise in gas bills to argue for keeping a second source of heat in the house.

Heating oil in Northern Ireland: £1,019.36 for 900 litres, up £55.46 in a week

The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland’s weekly survey put the average price of 900 litres of home heating oil at £1,019.36 on 15 October 2026, up from £963.90 on 8 October. That is a rise of £55.46, or 5.8%, in a week, about 113p a litre. It is above the September high of £1,007.16 and the highest the survey has recorded since 9 April, when it peaked at £1,088.71.

Smaller orders moved the same way. A 500 litre order averaged £575.38, up from £542.09 last week, and 300 litres averaged £355.98, up from £335.58. A year ago, on 16 October 2025, the same 900 litres averaged £470.77, so the price has more than doubled.

Why it matters: last week’s figure was the third fall in a row and looked like the start of an easing. This week undoes all of that and more, a reminder that oil prices this year have moved in jumps rather than drifts. If your stove does real work alongside an oil boiler, every litre it saves is worth more than twice what it was last autumn. The firewood heat comparison calculator puts logs and oil on the same cost-per-kWh footing at your own prices, and the wood burner running cost calculator costs a whole season. The saving only holds if the wood is dry, so check it against what moisture firewood should be before you lean on it. The survey is a snapshot of quoted prices on the day; your own supplier may sit above or below it. Source: Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, heating oil price archive.

A second mini chainsaw stopped at the border, this one bound for Amazon

On 13 October the Office for Product Safety and Standards published a report on a “Mini Chainsaw, 4L”, a small battery saw with a wall-plug charger, made in China. Its mains plug did not meet the dimensions of the British plug standard, BS 1363: the live and neutral pins sat less than 9.5mm from the edge of the plug face, so a user could get an electric shock putting it in or pulling it out. It also had no valid declaration of conformity, was missing the required warnings and instructions, and the protective kit supplied with it lacked the proper markings. Trading Standards rated the risk serious and the import was rejected at the border. The report lists Amazon product identifiers for it, which means it was headed for sale through the site.

Why it matters: this is the second mini chainsaw OPSS has reported in a week, after the Y Kall saw on 8 October, and both failed on basic electrical safety before anyone got to the cutting chain. If you are buying one of these for trimming branches into stove lengths, look at the charger plug as well as the saw: a genuine UK plug has a fused pin set well back from the edges, and the seller should be able to show a UK or EU declaration of conformity. For most of a winter’s splitting, a proper log splitter or a splitting axe is the safer tool. Source: OPSS product safety report 2609-0234.

Stove trade says the October gas rise makes the case for a second heat source

The Stove Industry Association said on 6 October that the latest energy price figures show why households should have more than one way to heat their homes. It said gas prices for households on standard variable tariffs had risen by 8%, driven by volatile wholesale markets and the conflict in the Middle East, while electricity prices stayed broadly stable, helped by the removal of VAT on domestic electricity from October to March 2027. Its executive director, Erica Malkin, said a second fuel “with its own supply chain and pricing dynamics” gives households a fallback when other energy costs rise, and urged the government to take a broad approach to future heating policy.

Why it matters: this is a trade body making its case, but the underlying point holds up for anyone who already owns a stove. Gas, oil and electricity have all moved by different amounts this year, and a stove burning dry logs is the one heat source whose price you can lock in by buying and seasoning wood ahead. If you are stocking up, our firewood buying guide covers what a fair load looks like, and how to store firewood dry keeps it worth what you paid. Source: Stove Industry Association.