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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason people with communal heating systems are not subject to the energy price cap.

The CMA completed its investigation into the energy market in 2016. It reported that default tariff customers of the large energy suppliers were paying an average of £1.4billion a year more than they would in a truly competitive market. In response, the Government legislated for Ofgem to introduce a cap on household default gas and electricity tariffs.

Heat networks typically buy their energy through commercial contracts which, in the past, resulted in competitive heat prices for those on networks. Commercial contracts are not covered by the existing Default Tariff Price Cap. The Energy Security Bill will provide Ofgem with powers to regulate heat networks.