The Scheme
This page contains all of our guidance documents. While we've produced or collated these for use by the heat suppliers for our registered heat networks, they also represent sector-wide best practice.
The guidance is intended to supplement the standards set out in our Scheme Rules, by helping heat suppliers interpret and apply them.
Treating customers fairly
The heat suppliers for all heat networks registered with Heat Trust are required to treat their customers fairly. This principle underpins all our consumer-protection standards.
Read our guidance for heat suppliers on what this means here.
Supporting vulnerable customers
The heat suppliers for all Heat Trust-registered heat networks are required to take various actions to proactively support customers in vulnerable situations. We've developed best practice guidance for heat suppliers on how to identify and communicate with vulnerable customers. You can find it here.
In 2021, Citizens Advice also published a Good Practice Guide for heat suppliers on making sure consumers get the right support and information. Find it here.
Supporting customers in payment difficulty
The heat suppliers for all heat networks registered with Heat Trust are required to proactively identify and support customers in payment difficulty, including offering them affordable repayment plans. We've developed further best practice guidance for heat suppliers about what this means in practice. You can find it here.
In 2021, Citizens Advice also published a Good Practice Guide for energy and heat suppliers on supporting customers in energy debt. Find it here.
Switching customers to pre-payment meters
When switching a customer from credit to pre-payment (whether physically or remotely), the heat suppliers for all heat networks registered with Heat Trust are required to ensure that it's safe and reasonably practicable for the customer to use the pre-payment meter.
Heat Trust has developed best practice guidance for heat suppliers on interpreting the meaning of 'safe and reasonably practicable'. You can find it here.
Responding to customer complaints
The heat suppliers for all heat networks registered with Heat Trust are required to have clear, transparent and timely processes for handling customer complaints.
We've developed further guidance for heat suppliers about best practice in recording and handling complaints. You can find it here.
Measuring customer satisfaction
Heat Trust has developed best practice guidance for heat suppliers on measuring their customers' satisfaction with their service. You can find it here.
Guaranteed Performance Standards
Heat Trust has developed guidance for heat suppliers on how to comply with our Guaranteed Performance Standards (Scheme Rule 6). You can read it here.
Guaranteed Service Payments
The heat suppliers for all heat networks registered with Heat Trust are required to compensate customers where interruptions (outages) to their heat supply don't meet our minimum performance standards.
The resulting Guaranteed Service Payment (GSP) amounts are given in the Scheme Rules as "(Indexed)", meaning that they are October 2015 prices (from when the Scheme launched) and must be uprated for inflation. Since 1 April 2023, they are uprated and fixed once a year by Heat Trust. You can find the indexed figures for this year and previous years here.
Billing best practice
Heat Trust has pulled together a compilation of best practice relating to billing here.
This is particularly important given wholesale gas price rises, which heat network consumers have little protection from, and because 'billing and charges' is consistently a top cause of customer complaints.
Example heat network bill
OPSS (the Office for Product Safety and Standards) has put together an example heat network bill showing all the information it should contain. You can find it here.
Note that it uses 2021 energy price examples that may not be representative of current prices.
Standing Charges
Heat Trust has published a summary of our Scheme requirements, and best practice suggestions, for breaking down standing charges so that consumers can understand them. You can find it here.
Pre-contractual transparency
Heat Trust has collected a set of best practice actions to ensure that consumers are able to see the key terms and conditions of their heat supply before they move into their home. You can find our guidance here.
This pre-contractual transparency is crucial because many consumers don't find out that they're on a heat network until after they've moved in, and only then realise that heat network consumers can't change supplier due to the monopoly nature of these networks.
Customer Charter
See here for Heat Trust's guide to information that should be included in a Customer Charter.
A Customer Charter may be used where it's not possible to have a separate Heat Supply Agreement between the heat supplier and each customer.
Residential Supply Agreement
Clean energy law firm Lux Nova Partners, a member of the Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management consortium, has drafted a suite of template heat contracts that were commissioned by government and developed through consultation.
Their template Residential Supply Agreement might be of particular interest to prospective Heat Trust Scheme participants as it was designed to be compliant with our Scheme Rules.
You would still need to add the following information to the RSA when applying to register with Heat Trust (relevant Scheme Rule in brackets):
- statement of flow temperature (Section 6.1)
- Guaranteed Service Payments for interruptions that match our Scheme Rules (Section 6.3)
- information on Heat Trust, up to date heat tariffs and higlights of the key terms and conditions of the heat supply, to be available for prospective customers (Section 8.1)
- how to read a meter and submit a reading, and how customers can view their consumption (Sections 8.2 and 9.3)
- how to operate their pre-payment meter, if applicable, including emergency credit (Sections 9.5 and 16.2)
- how often the meter and HIU will be inspected (Sections 9.7 and 10)
- contingency and maintenance plans (Section 11)
- process for supporting both customers in need of additional support AND customers in vulnerable situations (Sections 13 and 14)
- bills that include information on where to find advice or answers to queries (Section 15.6)
- procedure for complaints (Section 17)
- privacy policy (Section 21)
Audit Completion Guidelines
Heat Trust uses external auditors to assess whether the heat suppliers for our registered heat networks are complying with our consumer-protection standards. We audit each registered heat network at least every five years and can audit a network more frequently if we identify risk factors for consumer detriment.
Our Audit Guidelines explain the audit steps, scoring system and possible outcomes. You can find them here.
Technical standards for heat networks
CIBSE (the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) has developed a voluntary Code of Practice (CP) 1 that sets out minimum technical standards for heat networks, which you can find here.
BESA (the Building Engineering Services Association) has developed a voluntary test standard and testing regime for the Heat Interface Units (HIUs) that transfer heat from the heat network into an individual consumer's home. You can find this here. It aims to ensure that the HIU market meets the needs of those developing and designing heat networks that ultimately benefits consumers.
Although these standards are voluntary, with planned statutory regulation on the horizon for heat networks Heat Trust strongly encourages developers of new heat networks to follow them. Doing so helps the sector get regulation-ready and avoids consumer detriments from poor heat network performance.
Improving heat network performance
DESNZ (the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) has published short guidance notes and videos setting out practical steps to help operators improve the performance of existing heat networks. You can find them here.
Guidance on Heat Network Metering & Billing Regulations
OPSS (the Office for Product Safety and Standards) has published guidance for heat suppliers on how to comply with the government's existing regulations on heat network metering and billing. You can find it here.