Half a million families left out of the energy price cap who are paying £1,000 more to heat their homes need urgent government help, ministers are being told. The families affected are those using heat networks that pump hot water to multiple homes from a central boiler, and which are not covered by the Government’s price cap.
These households are unable to opt out or switch to a different supplier, so they have no choice but to pay higher prices. Up to half of London homes served by heat networks are flats and social housing in urban areas, meaning many of the capital’s most vulnerable are stuck paying over the odds to keep warm.
In The Mirror, Alan Whitehead, Labour ’s shadow energy minister, said: “Before heat network customers even turn on their shower or their heating, they are at a severe disadvantage, paying a premium for a system they have no choice but to be part of. The Government have been warned time and again about the lack of regulation for heat network customers and have refused to do anything about it.”
