The Telegraph reports that rural homeowners could be forced to spend £13,000 on controversial heat pumps as “net zero” rules cause traditional oil heating systems to be banned

Government plans to phase out oil heating systems as part of its eco drive will cost rural homeowners £11,000 more than if a like-for-like replacement was used, trade bodies have warned.

From 2026, households will be banned from replacing liquid petroleum gas or oil boilers with equivalent models, and will instead be forced to install expensive heat pumps.

Households on the gas grid will face a ban by 2035, but only if the price of the green technology has fallen to match gas boilers.

A report by the Energy Utilities Alliance, a trade body, found replacing a heating system costs £2,000 on average, while a heat pump costs £13,000 for equivalent homes.

Mike Foster, of the group, accused the Government of discriminating against rural homeowners and treating them like “low-hanging fruit”.

A survey by the trade body found 85pc of voters would not vote for any MP “that backed a ban costing them an extra £11,000 just to keep warm”.

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The Telegraph - Millions of rural households will be forced to spend £13k on heat pumps
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