From 27 January 2026 heat network operators and suppliers in Great Britain must meet Ofgem's authorisation conditions: fair standards of conduct, written heat supply contracts, accurate metered billing, a complaints process that ends at the Energy Ombudsman, a priority services register and records that prove it all. Most operators have never run a regulated billing function. We have, and we set them up.
Book a confidential conversationIf you supply heat through a network, the conditions apply whether or not you think of yourself as an energy company. Bills must be accurate and, on metered networks, based on actual readings taken at least once a year. Back billing is a last resort limited to twelve months. Customers need a heat supply contract, a complaints route, a priority services register and protection from disconnection in winter or where vulnerable people live. Operators must maintain the network to good industry practice and keep performance records for five years. Ofgem has said its early focus is support rather than enforcement, which makes this the cheapest moment to get it right.
A short, fixed scope review of your networks against every authorisation condition, with a prioritised plan: what is already compliant, what needs a process, what needs a system, and what it will cost.
Selecting and implementing a billing and metering approach with no vendor ties, from meter data and tariffs through to accurate bills, annual actual reads, back billing controls and the cost data you need to evidence fair pricing.
Heat supply contracts, a complaints process that works before the Ombudsman is involved, the priority services register, vulnerability and disconnection safeguards, and the records Ofgem and your residents will ask to see.
We have delivered billing and customer platforms for regulated energy and water suppliers, controlled £9bn of public money for Ofgem and government, and we sit on no vendor's side. We do not design heat networks, and we say so. What we bring is the discipline of a regulated supplier, applied to organisations that have just become one.
If you supply heat, hot water or cooling through a network in Great Britain, the authorisation conditions apply. Scale affects how much process you need, not whether the rules reach you.
Yes. The billing and conduct conditions apply alongside the Landlord and Tenant Act limits on service charges. Ofgem encourages keeping back billing to twelve months even where the statutory limit is longer.
Not always. Many operators need accurate meter data, a tariff structure and a process before they need software. The gap review tells you which, and when a system is needed we select it with no vendor ties.
A few weeks for a typical portfolio. You get a condition by condition view of where you stand and a prioritised plan with costs and owners.
Ofgem has said its early focus is guidance and support, with enforcement for extreme cases. A documented plan that you are visibly working through is what they expect to see, and it is also what protects you if a complaint reaches the Ombudsman.
Possibly. The Heat Network Efficiency Scheme offers grants for optimisation studies and part funding for improvements to existing networks in England and Wales, subject to eligibility and the budget in each funding round.
The Heat Network Efficiency Scheme, HNES, is a £107 million government grant scheme for existing heat networks in England and Wales, run for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Revenue grants can cover up to 100% of an optimisation study into why a network performs poorly, and capital grants can fund up to, but not including, half the cost of the improvements, with priority for networks serving residential customers in need. Funding runs in rounds, with the next expected to open on 30 November 2026, subject to budget. With Ofgem regulation now in force, it is worth using the scheme to fix performance problems before they become compliance problems.
Our explainer on heat network billing agents and the Ofgem rules sets out who carries the obligations, what changes for bills and complaints, and six things to check in your agent contract.
A gap review takes a few weeks and tells you exactly where you stand. Start there.
Book a confidential conversation