Plans for the first Northern Ireland-led regulatory framework for heat networks have opened for public consultation. The proposals are intended to establish clearer consumer protections for homes and organisations supplied through communal or district heating systems.
Around 3,000 consumers in Northern Ireland currently receive heat through a network. Unlike a conventional gas or electricity account, a heat network distributes energy from a central source to more than one building or customer through insulated pipes.
The Department for the Economy's proposals cover the information customers should receive, how charges and consumption are presented, standards for accurate billing and the routes available when a complaint cannot be resolved directly with a supplier.
The framework is also intended to give operators a clearer set of responsibilities as more schemes are considered. Heat networks can use several energy sources and are expected to form part of longer-term plans to reduce the carbon produced by heating buildings.
The consultation will remain open until Thursday, October 1. Consumers, network operators, housing organisations, public bodies and other interested groups can review the papers and submit a response during the eight-week consultation period.
Any final framework will be shaped after the responses have been assessed and would require the relevant implementation steps before taking effect. Existing customers should continue to use the terms and complaints arrangements that currently apply to their own network in the meantime.