Heat network registration closes 26 January 2027

Where the date comes from

The deadline is set by regulation 26(1) of the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/269), read with the definitions in regulation 2.

It is a single fixed date rather than a rolling period, so every network in Great Britain faces the same one. If you hold a portfolio, they all fall due together — which is worth planning for well before the final quarter, when the registration route will be at its busiest.

Who has to register

Anyone who operates a heat network, or supplies heat, cooling or hot water over one, to two or more end users. That captures far more than large district schemes:

• District networks serving several buildings
• Communal networks inside a single building
• Networks where a landlord or managing agent recovers heat costs through a service charge
• Shared ground loop arrangements

Registration is per network. A developer or housing provider with fifty schemes has fifty registrations to make, each generating its own confirmation and identifier.

Whether you register as operator, supplier, or both changes which conditions apply to you. The registration checker works that out in a few questions.

What registration asks for

Condition A4 sets out the information required. In practice it falls into four groups, and the last two are the ones that catch people out:

• The authorised person — the legal entity, its ownership and financial position
• The network — location, configuration, installed capacity, heat source, meter counts
• Consumers — how many, and whether any are domestic
• Declarations — including a fit and proper declaration covering everyone with significant managerial responsibility

For how registration works in practice, including the regulatory contact, the operator-first order and Ofgem’s full information list, see how to register a heat network with Ofgem. Ofgem is urging operators and suppliers to register as soon as possible rather than waiting for the deadline.

Ofgem authorises a legal entity, not an account or a brand. Where a managing agent or contractor delivers the service, the accountable entity is still the one answerable for every condition — delegating the work does not transfer it. A long-term ESCO appointment is the exception: the ESCO takes on the operator or supplier role itself, and the accountability moves with it.

What happens after registration

Registration is the beginning rather than the end. Once authorised you carry the authorisation conditions that apply to your role, and an ongoing reporting obligation: registration data, regular data returns, event-driven notifications, and information you must disclose to consumers.

Common questions