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We are excited that the new consumer advice services supporting heat network consumers launched on 1 April 2025. For free impartial advice and support, the public can now:
Individuals can also take their complaint to Energy Ombudsman if:
- a problem reported to a heat network supplier is not fixed within 8 weeks
- they receive a “deadlock letter”, stating the problem cannot be fixed
- they are not happy with the response from their heat supplier.
These consumer advice services are underpinned by new legislation which came into effect on 1st April 2025 – the Heat Networks (Market Framework) Regulations 2025. This legislation means that Energy Ombudsman can now accept disputes from all heat network customers.
To ensure a smooth transition, Energy Ombudsman is urging all heat network suppliers who have not already registered to do so.
We are committed to ensuring communities benefit from hosting energy infrastructure, and that any windfall profits are managed appropriately, and we want to hear your views on how this could be achieved in Heat Network Zones. We would like to invite consumer and community groups, including those with limited prior knowledge of heat networks, to join us for a webinar on Monday 28 April 10:00 – 11:00.
We will be providing an overview of heat networks and heat network zoning, the governance arrangements and how we’re aiming to ensure that consumers and local communities benefit. We are also in touch with industry stakeholders with more detailed knowledge of heat networks to provide opportunities to share their views.
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Leeds here we come! Not only is Leeds the home to a great heat network, but between the 20th and 22nd May we’re exhibiting at UKREiiF 2025, raising awareness of heat networks and zoning.
We’ll be joining a number of panel events over the three days to discuss the role heat networks play in decarbonising places, including an overview of recent announcements such as project SWAN and initial heat network zones.
Find us in the Royal Armouries Hall on stand K52, hope to see you there!
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We are making temporary changes to how two funding streams work. Works to low-carbon communal heating and district heat networks are no longer eligible for the Warm Home: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund schemes, as they are not covered by the required quality standards for measures funded by these schemes
While we do not have any evidence of poor installations under predecessors to this scheme, we want to ensure that the heat networks sector has the faith of consumers as we encourage it to grow. We are therefore working at pace to ensure that connections to low-carbon communal heating and district heat networks are covered by appropriate quality standards.
We will provide an update and further guidance on the required quality standards once this has been completed. Note that these standards are not expected to be in place during the first year of delivery of these schemes.
Communities will receive the largest benefits from heat networks when they are able to access local renewable sources of heat. We have therefore partnered with the Scottish Government and IFF Research, FairHeat, COWI and ADE to produce guidance that will help heat network developers and owners of heat sources to navigate the technological, economic and relationship challenges, and to increase the use of local sources of heat within heat networks.
The ADE are looking to hold interviews and undertake focus groups on our behalf. We would therefore like to invite heat network developers and owners of sites with recoverable heat to reach out to research@theade.co.uk.
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