The first ever pay-as-you-go oil scheme has been introduced in Northern Ireland.

It has been developed by local firms Kingspan Environmental and Carillion Energy Services and will be fitted on 20 oil tanks across homes in the Dungannon, Carnlough and Newcastle region for three months.

Jillian Ferris, client and stakeholder director at Carillion Energy Services, said: "Carillion decided to team up with Kingspan Environmental to find a pay as you go method that works for people in fuel poverty as well as for those householders who want more control over their energy usage."

Ms Ferris explained that the selected homes have been chosen because they include a range of different people, which will help to ensure that the system meets the requirements of all householders.

Professor John Hills, from the London School of Economics and Political Science, recently predicted that the number of people in fuel poverty will jump from 2.7 million to 2.9 million by 2016.