Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to introduce a price cap on communal energy systems for domestic use in the context of the Government's strategy to expand heat networks.

District or communal heating systems typically buy their energy through commercial contracts which are not covered by the Default Tariff Act. The government is aware that this can lead to large increases in the bills of some consumers on communal networks and that some consumers are seeing increases larger than would be allowed under the domestic price cap.

The measures announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February are intended to cover heat network consumers and the Government is engaging closely with industry and consumer groups to understand the specific impacts in the heat network sector and continue to assess whether further options are needed to help households through this challenging period.

The Government needs to ensure heat network consumers receive a fair price for their heating. The Government is therefore committed to legislating within this parliament to regulate the heat networks sector and in December 2021, the Government announced that Ofgem will take on the role of regulator and give Ofgem new powers to regulate prices in this sector as a matter of priority. This will enable equivalent protection for domestic heat network customers as well as ensuring heat network operators are securing good purchasing deals for their consumers. This will mean that consumers are charged a fair rate for heating whilst encouraging investment in heat networks.