This page gives guidance for domestic heat network consumers in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) on:
Before reading on:
Please note that Heat Trust isn’t an advice service, can't give legal advice and can’t intervene directly in disputes between individual consumers and their heat suppliers.
If your heat network is metered, then your heat bill or account statement (and any in-home display) will usually show your:
The example heat bill below, produced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), uses 2021 prices that may not be representative of latest prices.
Exactly how you’re billed and how your charges are calculated will depend on various factors, including whether your heat network’s registered with us and whether it’s metered. Unmetered heat networks will use a different method to apportion charges. See here if you’re on a Heat Trust registered heat network, or here if you’re not.
What your heat supplier charges you for your heat usage will also be affected by:
Lower efficiency means higher bills, as more heat has to be used to compensate for what’s lost. Your kWh unit cost will therefore usually have been calculated as the heat source (e.g. gas) cost multiplied by a factor that accounts for these heat losses.
Because heat suppliers buy their energy in the commercial market, heat network consumers have not benefitted from government subsidies or price controls targeted at domestic energy consumers. There is also no separate price regulation (price cap) that applies to the sale of heat.
This means that heat network consumers aren’t protected by the energy price cap. They also didn’t benefit from the government’s Energy Price Guarantee support scheme for domestic gas and electricity consumers during Winter 2022-23.
Instead, the government introduced two specific bill support schemes for commercial energy customers (including heat networks) that use gas or electricity as their main heat source:
All GB heat suppliers are legally required to pass on to their end consumers the benefit that they’ve received under the EBRS and/or the EBDS, and to notify their consumers of how they’ve done this. The extent of any benefit received by an individual supplier will depend on their contractual arrangements for their energy source, so not all heat suppliers will have received a benefit to pass on.
The benefit only applies to the variable element of bills and not to fixed (standing) charges. The impact on end consumers’ bills will also depend on the overall efficiency of the heat network as explained above. Heat suppliers had to first claim the EBDS discount themselves. This means that they may only now be starting to pass it onto consumers, but the benefit should be backdated to 1 April 2023.
If you believe that your heat supplier hasn’t passed on the benefit(s) they’ve received under the EBRS and/or the EBDS, then you can complain to them using the government’s template letter here. If you’re still unhappy with your heat supplier’s response, you can refer your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman here. This arrangement between government and the Ombudsman is separate to Heat Trust and covers all GB heat suppliers. Unlike other types of complaint about heat suppliers, a supplier doesn't need to be registered with Heat Trust for its consumers to make an EBRS or EBDS pass-through complaint.
A lower level of support under the EBDS also applies to electricity consumers who are on communal or ‘private wire’ networks, where building owners buy this electricity through commercial energy contracts. If the same electricity supply also powers a heat network system, then the higher heat network discount will apply. Often the same consumers can be on both a heat network (for their heating and hot water) and a private wire network (for their electricity). You can read more about how the EBDS applies to these electricity consumers on the government’s website here.
When launching the EBDS for heat networks, the government estimated that it would be worth up to £380 million in total, or £860 for the average heat network consumer. However, government data shows that (as of 25 August 2023) only around 900 GB heat network energy contracts had been discounted, at a total cost of £6 million.
If you're on a Heat Trust registered heat network
If you’re having difficulty paying your heat bills, then our Scheme Rules require your heat supplier to:
If you’re in vulnerable circumstances, then our Scheme Rules require your heat supplier to have processes in place to:
‘Vulnerable circumstances’ can include circumstances related to age, a physical or mental health condition, disability, low income, financial insecurity or bereavement. This list is non-exhaustive and your heat supplier must also consider other circumstances that might mean you become unable to safeguard your personal welfare, or the personal welfare of other members of your household.
If you're more likely than a typical customer to have difficulty communicating, then our Scheme Rules require your heat supplier to add you to their Priority Services Register and provide you with additional support.
This support might include:
If you're NOT on a Heat Trust registered heat network
This doesn’t necessarily mean that your heat supplier can’t or won’t offer you extra support.
We suggest asking your heat supplier the following questions:
You may be entitled to support as an electricity consumer, as a pensioner, carer or benefits recipient, or because of a health condition or low income.
The following organisations can help you understand whether there are any other energy bill support schemes to which you might be entitled:
The following organisations offer advice on general cost of living support:
The following organisations can help with debt: