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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consumer protection exists in relation to energy pricing for customers of district heating networks.

There are provisions relating to price transparency, metering and billing of district heating networks in the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014. There is also a requirement for energy costs to be provided in a format which enables customers to compare the charges of different energy suppliers. A voluntary code called HeatTrust was established last year by the industry trade association, with the support of Government, to improve customer protection in this sector. HeatTrust has recently launched an on-line price comparator tool for heat network customers.

Heat network customers are covered by general consumer protection, competition and contract law as well as tenancy law where relevant.