Households which rely on heating oils are being urged to get ready for winter.

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing today visited the INEOS refinery at Grangemouth which manufactures the majority of fuel in Scotland. Around 153,000 homes in Scotland rely on heating oil or Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

Mr Ewing said: "Last year at the height of the cold weather, we heard reports of people facing Christmas without heating. Over the past year, energy companies have been working intensively with their customers to avoid that happening again.

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"Yet at the moment, demand looks to be lower than the same time last year. The weather is admittedly mild at the moment, but while no-one can say with any certainty what this winter might bring, we all know it can turn suddenly.

"Leaving orders to the last minute is inherently risky. I support the energy companies 'buy early' campaigns and would encourage anyone who uses heating oil or LPG to stock up now while suppliers have spare delivery capacity and ahead of any adverse weather conditions this winter."

(GK)