In the W9 neighbourhood, l can think of one private heat network in one of our Mansion blocks – Clive Court and maybe Stuart Tower, W9 – who are often overlooked when discussing Heat Networks in the public policy arena. Clearly at time of very expensive energy costs we need everyone benefitting from what is available.
One issue will be to ensure that the landlord (the heat supplier is usually the building owner) has properly applied for the Energy Bills Discount Scheme for heat networks. Operators were legally required to apply for this by 25th July and then to pass on the discount to their end customers. Landlords are also legally required to notify end customers that they have received this discount and to say how they will be passing it on, so residents should have received this notice. The scheme caps the amount operators pay for energy, but the rate is still higher than the domestic price cap. If they haven’t received this and they can take their complaint to the Energy Ombudsman if the landlord still doesn’t satisfy them.
The other big issue is tackling energy efficiency and heat losses, which can be very significant on heat networks and there is government funding for improvements via the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme. Residents should press the landlord to apply for funding. An optimisation study under the scheme is fully funded.
Regulations are coming in a few years to mandate operators to improve technical performance (efficiency and reliability) and consumer protection via Ofgem. In the meantime the landlord could register with Heat Trust. This will be well worth the effort doing to keep in touch with the changes coming along soon.