Heat Trust, the consumer champion for heat networks, has hailed a successful fifth year of holding the heat network industry to account, with figures from its 2020 annual report showing that complaint volumes continue to fall with an average of 3.8 complaints per 100 customers in 2020 amongst participants in the scheme compared to an average of 5.4 complaints per 100 customers in the regulated gas and electricity sectors.

Heat Trust says participation in its voluntary scheme has ensured a significant proportion of the industry is ready for the government’s forthcoming statutory regulation of heat networks. However, it called for those operators who haven’t yet joined the scheme to do so now, to ensure they are not caught out by regulations in a few years’ time.

Heat Trust puts customers at the heart of the rapidly expanding heat network market. It sets consistent customer service standards for the sector, building on standards set in the gas and electricity markets.

Up to five million homes could be reliant on the heat network infrastructure by 2050, a ten-fold increase from the estimated 500,000 homes currently on heat networks in the UK, so it is important that the sector addresses consumer protection issues no in order to build public confidence in this important technology.