Heat Network Metering & Billing Regulations 2026 Changes Explained

The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 required heat suppliers to notify their networks and bill final customers based on actual consumption, but from 27 January 2026 the notification duty and billing rules were revoked in England, Scotland and Wales and replaced by Ofgem's authorisation conditions. The duty to install meters, where already determined necessary, still applies. Northern Ireland is unaffected.

This guide explains which of those rules still apply after the January 2026 changes, what Ofgem has replaced, and what it means for meter installation, building classification and billing across Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland including the viable and exempt classes, meter maintenance duties, and how compliance ties into Ofgem registration and heat network accounts.

What Is the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014?

The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/3120) implemented the metering and billing requirements of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU), Articles 9 to 11 and 13, into UK law. Their purpose was to ensure heat network customers were billed on actual consumption rather than a flat or estimated charge, in the same way as gas and electricity customers.

Do the Heat Network Metering and Billing Regulations Still Apply in 2026?

Not in full, and not everywhere. From 27 January 2026, the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/7) partially revoked the 2014 Regulations in England, Scotland and Wales. According to DESNZ's February 2026 guidance, this was done specifically to prevent duplicate obligations, now that Ofgem regulates heat networks directly under new authorisation conditions.

The result is a split regime. Some 2014 duties were revoked outright. Some were only partly revoked, with the underlying obligation kept alive. Meter accuracy and meter replacement were left completely untouched. The table below sets out what changed.

Which Obligations Were Revoked From 27 January 2026?

Which Obligations Still Apply?

Note that the "Open" class was not deleted from the Regulations' wording. What changed is that the assessment route which gave it legal effect was stripped out, so it no longer functions as a live compliance pathway in Great Britain. A saving provision keeps the meter-install duty alive for buildings that already had a positive determination before the cut-off, which is covered in the next section.

Who Do the Heat Network Metering and Billing Regulations Apply To?

The Regulations distinguish between a district heat network, where a central energy centre supplies multiple buildings, and a communal heating system, where a single building's plant serves multiple flats or units. Both fall within scope.

The party responsible for compliance is the "heat supplier", any person who supplies and charges a "final customer" for heat, cooling or hot water. In practice, this is often the entity responsible for the plant room rather than the party the resident thinks of as their energy supplier: commonly a freeholder, a managing agent acting on the freeholder's behalf, or a resident management company, rather than a conventional gas or electricity supplier.

What Are the Viable, Open and Exempt Building Classes?

The 2020 amendment to the 2014 Regulations introduced a three-class system, tied to a cost-effectiveness assessment, to decide whether individual meters were required in a building:

• Viable: meters are cost-effective and technically feasible; installation is mandatory.
• Open: the assessment was inconclusive or borderline; the building had to be reassessed periodically.
• Exempt: installation is not cost-effective or not technically feasible; no meters required.

Northern Ireland retains the original three-class system in full, including live use of the cost-effectiveness assessment tool.

Do the Heat Network Metering and Billing Regulations Apply Differently in Northern Ireland?

Yes. The Ofgem authorisation framework introduced in Great Britain does not extend to Northern Ireland. There, a heat supplier must continue to notify DESNZ under the original 2014 Regulations, install Heat Cost Allocators where required, and bill final customers on actual consumption, exactly as before. A heat supplier operating in Northern Ireland should comply with the 2014 Regulations in full, regardless of what changes on the GB side.

What Happens if a Heat Network Doesn't Comply?

Non-compliance still carries consequences on both sides of the current framework. Failing to maintain meter accuracy under Regulation 5, or failing to replace meters as required under Regulation 7, is a breach of the 2014 Regulations in its own right, regardless of the January 2026 changes. Separately, Ofgem now enforces the areas the 2014 Regulations no longer cover, including registration and billing.

Conclusion

Notification, the Heat Cost Allocator duty and consumption-based billing were not simply dropped from heat network regulation. They were replaced by Ofgem's authorisation conditions, which now sit at the centre of heat network compliance in Great Britain. Notification duties have been superseded by registration with Ofgem under authorisation condition A4. Billing duties have been superseded by Ofgem's billing and price transparency conditions.

Great Britain heat networks must also register with the Energy Ombudsman's Heat Network Supplier redress scheme, separate from Ofgem registration.

This is where Heat Network Metering and Billing Regulation connects directly to your accounts. An Ofgem registration submission depends on cost allocation, billing records and consumption data reconciling cleanly, and gaps here are what typically hold up a submission.