Range Cooker News: August 2026

The running-cost picture moved again this fortnight, and most of it lands on off-grid kitchens. Heating oil has slipped back towards 90p a litre, the higher grant for oil-heated homes is now open, and wholesale gas has eased just as forecasters watch the October price cap. Here is what matters before you commit to a cooker or fill the tank.

Heating oil slips back towards 90p a litre

BoilerJuice put the UK average domestic kerosene price at 90.02p a litre on 6 August 2026, down from the 93.52p we flagged on 23 July. The late-July climb has partly unwound, so anyone running an oil-fired AGA or Rayburn has a slightly better moment to top up than they did a fortnight ago. Oil usually stays softer through August before demand builds in the autumn, so if your tank is low it is worth getting quotes now rather than waiting for the heating season. Our AGA running costs guide sets oil against gas and electric on current rates so you can see where your kitchen sits.

The £9,000 grant for oil-heated homes is now live

From 21 July 2026 the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for off-grid oil and LPG homes rose from £7,500 to £9,000, a 20% increase aimed at rural households that fall outside the energy price cap. The government says leaflets are reaching around 200,000 eligible homes with details on how to claim, and the money comes off the installation invoice through an MCS-certified installer rather than as a rebate later. It funds a heat pump for your central heating, not the cooker itself, but it is worth knowing if you heat with oil and are weighing up your options, because a switch changes the fuel maths for the whole house. The detail is on GOV.UK, and if you are reconsidering the cooker at the same time our electric cooker buying guide covers the heat-storage alternatives.

Wholesale gas eases before the October cap is set

Mains-gas kitchens got a small piece of good news: UK wholesale gas prices fell in early August to their lowest in about three weeks, as markets weighed the prospect of calmer conditions in the Middle East, according to Trading Economics. That matters because wholesale gas is the main driver of the price cap that sets what you pay to run a gas or dual fuel range. The £1,663 cap has applied since 1 July, and Ofgem confirms the October to December figure on 26 August, so nothing is fixed yet; the easing simply takes some pressure off a cap that forecasters had expected to edge up. Our range cooker running cost calculator lets you test today’s rates against your own kitchen.