Scottish homeowners could be forced to downsize due to rising cost of heating oil
Video report by Hannah McNulty
When Richard MacLennan retired, he and his wife thought they'd move back to his native Highlands but they fell in love with the Borders and bought an older property there. The house is totally off-grid due to its remote location in the Newcastleton area meaning he uses red diesel as heating oil but also to power a generator for electricity.
In the last 12 months he's seen the cost of the heating oil double - from around 64p per litre to £1.20 per litre.
130,000 homes in Scotland use heating oil, mostly in rural communities, and its price is soaring along with the costs of mains gas and electric.
It's being blamed on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, increased wholesale costs and increasing delivery costs.
Homes in remote locations often have to bear the full brunt of a delivery cost as there's no-one to share costs with.
There's no price cap and even though both the Scottish Government has offered help to homeowners and the UK Government will give households £400 to help offset costs, Richard doesn't believe he's eligible. He's written to his MP, John Lamont, asking for help
"The UK government's put in place 15 billion pounds of financial support to households, including the discount to energy bills.
"The Scottish government's also been given some additional money to help the most vulnerable households, to ensure they're able to pay their bills too - but as long prices continue to rise, I think it's important that the UK government continues to review the landscape and ensure that all the financial support that is required is put in place but particularly for those people living in rural communities who are particularly hard to pay their bills."
The cost of logs has also increased and Richard and his wife are facing a price hike at the pump to fill their 4x4 which they say is essential living where they do.
In the worst case scenario, if prices continue to rise, he says he may have to look at moving to a more urban area because their rural dream may no longer be affordable.
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