Urgent message to landlords: Important changes to Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations

IMPORTANT new legislation has come into force which affects property owners and managers who supply heating to multi-let commercial buildings.

This major change to the government’s Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations reinforces the message to landlords of the urgent requirement for them to install energy metering.

The move involves the release of a cost-effectiveness tool which will allow operators of currently unmetered networks to assess whether or not they need to install metering devices at their premises.

The recent amendment to the legislation will also introduce new building classes – viable, open and exempt – which specify that the cost-effectiveness tool, developed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will need to be completed for all buildings falling into the open classes.

The new Heat Network (Metering and Billing) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 were laid before Parliament on Friday, November 6 2020 and will come into force on Friday, November 27 2020.

Under this revised legislation, the installation of metering devices in multi-let commercial properties must be completed by November 27, 2021. Meter and/or heat cost allocators will have to be in place by September 1, 2022.

The changes also call for the clarification of ongoing responsibilities, such as customer billing, that fall on operators who install metering devices pre-dating this amendment to the regulations.

The original Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 were put in place six years ago as part of the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive. They apply to anyone who is a “heat supplier” – those who supply and charge for the supply of heating, cooling or hot water through either a district heat network or a communal heating system.

With the largest share of CO2 emissions from UK buildings coming from space heating and water heating, the aim is to make users aware of how much heat they are consuming and to help them reduce their costs by only using the amount they actually require.

Information gathered from landlords’ submissions is used to create a national database identifying the level and scope of how much heating is supplied through shared networks.

The result is to create a better understanding of the impact of heat networks and can help future policy decisions by government.

The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations apply to both existing buildings and new builds.

The important role landlords play in this information-gathering is vital to raising greater understanding of how heat networks impact on the UK’s energy consumption and how measures can be put in place to face the challenges in the supply and use of energy.

There is now only a year to ensure these new compliance deadlines are met.

Inteb and its team of energy managers, surveyors, utility and energy specialists can help commercial property owners and managers meet the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 requirements by getting in touch by phone on 0151-601 3476 or by emailing [email protected]