Heat Trust Sounds the Alarm on Ofgem’s “Fair Pricing” Drafts
Heat Trust, the voice for folks who rely on communal and district heating, is dripping with worry. They argue that Ofgem’s recent talk of “fair pricing” could leave half a million households, who already pay a fortune for their steamy comfort, in the cold.
Why the Heat Trust is on Edge
The main takeaway: Ofgem’s proposals barely scratch the surface of the cost chaos heat networks are wrestling with. Heat Trust says consumers are still facing double the price they’d pay with a gas boiler. That’s a recipe for a shouting furnace war.
“We’re calling for urgent government action to tame these runaway costs and curb the heat waste that comes from shoddy supply setups,” says Stephen Knight, the Chief Executive of Heat Trust. “If we don’t fix this, the public’s trust in heat networks will bite the dust while we’re trying to build a low‑carbon future.”
Key Points of the Heat Trust’s Pitch
- Energy cost elephant in the room: The current plans ignore the volatile commercial energy prices that heat suppliers slam straight onto customers.
- Cost allocation chaos: They urge explicit rules from the start so operators can’t yacking extra charges onto customers—especially maintenance costs that landlords should pay.
- Opaque, unpredictable bills: Standing charges and heat price spikes have turned the simple act of heating a home into a math puzzle.
- Missing transparency: A public register of heat network prices would keep the porks in check, but suppliers are pushing back against this.
Time for a Consumer‑First Voice
Heat Trust wants a louder consumer presence in the regulatory conversation. With residents paying up to 77p per kWh—ten times the cost of normal gas heating—there’s no time to lose.
“We urge the government to dig deeper into these proposals, mingle with consumer groups, and enforce solid protections,” Knight adds.
Next Steps for Heat Users
Hashing it out with being the only independent consumer protection scheme in Britain, Heat Trust is pushing heat suppliers to register in anticipation of the statutory regulation timeline kicking in January 2026. This call has already gotten the nod from both the government and Ofgem.
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