District Heating
(asked on 29th March 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the (a) average annual cost between 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023 and (b) projected annual cost until 31 March 2024 of (i) electricity and (ii) heating bills for households on communal and district heat networks; and if he will make a comparative assessment of the cost of (A) those customer's bills and (B) the bills of other domestic customers.
The table below makes a comparative assessment of heating bills for a heat network customer and a typical domestic gas boiler customer. Bills are given as annualised estimates to account for heat consumption varying throughout the year. Time periods have been separated to reflect the introductions of government support schemes. No estimates have been made beyond June 2023 due to uncertainty in future prices.
An electricity comparison has not been included above as most households with domestic electricity contracts and the same electricity demand will face the same electricity bills, regardless of whether they are connected to a heat network.
Time period | Estimated annualised heat network heat bill (7,000 kWh of heat, fuel cost only) | Estimated annualised domestic gas bill (7,000 kWh of heat, fuel cost only) |
April 2023 - June 2023 Energy Bill Discount Scheme supporting heat networks, Energy Price Guarantee capping domestic gas prices. | £861 | £861 |
October 2022 – March 2023 Energy Bill Relief Scheme supporting heat networks, Energy Price Guarantee capping domestic gas prices. | £1,037 | £861 |
March 2022 – September 2022 No government support in place for heat networks, Ofgem price cap limiting domestic gas price. | £968 | £585 |