Availability of Resources and Financial Responsibility
Every authorised person. Section A applies to everyone holding a heat network authorisation, whether they operate the network, supply heat over it, or both.
What this condition requires
Act at all times in a responsible manner calculated to secure that: you have the resources, including financial resources and on the necessary terms and rights, to properly and efficiently carry on each regulated activity and comply with all legal and regulatory obligations (13.1.1); you can meet reasonably anticipated liabilities as they fall due, including in times of severe but plausible stress (13.1.2); you take appropriate measures to identify and manage risks (13.1.3); and amounts collected from consumers for maintaining, repairing or replacing any part of the network are available for the purpose for which they were collected (13.1.4). Two consequential duties: notify Ofgem immediately if directors or appropriate senior management do not, or should not, have a reasonable expectation that the resources will be available or that liabilities can be met (13.2); and in those circumstances make no payment, loan, transfer or other disposal of assets unless essential to carrying on the regulated activities (13.3).
The condition in full
Reproduced from Ofgem’s Heat Network Authorisation Conditions decision, January 2026, Appendix 2.
Principle
13.1 The authorised person must at all times act in a responsible manner that is calculated to secure that:
13.1.1 it has available to it such resources, including financial resources, on such terms and with all such rights, as needed to ensure that it is at all times able to properly and efficiently carry on each regulated activity that it is authorised (or treated as authorised) to carry on and comply in all respects with its legal and regulatory obligations, including under the authorisation conditions;
13.1.2 it is able to meet reasonably anticipated liabilities as they fall due, including in times of severe but plausible stress;
13.1.3 it takes appropriate measures to identify and manage risks; and
13.1.4 amounts collected from heat network consumers for the purpose of maintaining, repairing or replacing any part or parts of a relevant heat network in relation to which it carries on a regulated activity are available for the purpose for which they were collected.
13.2 The authorised person must notify the Authority immediately if its directors (or appropriate senior management representatives) do not (or should not) have a reasonable expectation that the authorised person:
13.2.1 will have available to it the resources (on the terms and with the rights); or
13.2.2 will be able to meet reasonably anticipated liabilities as they fall due,
in each case as referred to in paragraph 13.1 of this authorisation condition.
13.3 Where the directors of the authorised person (or appropriate senior management representatives) do not (or should not) have a reasonable expectation that the authorised person will have available to it the resources (on the terms and with the rights) referred to in paragraph 13.1 of this authorisation condition, the authorised person must not make any payment or loan or transfer or otherwise dispose of any asset (except where that payment, loan or transfer or disposal is essential to the carrying on of the authorised person's regulated activities) if doing so would create a significant risk of the authorised person being unable to carry on each regulated activity that it is authorised (or treated as authorised) to carry on and/or unable to comply in all respects with its legal and regulatory obligations, including under the authorisation conditions.
13.4 This authorisation condition shall not apply where the authorised person:
13.4.1 is a Local Authority or an Excepted Company; or
13.4.2 carries on regulated activities only in relation to relevant heat networks that are either Industrial Heat Networks or Self-Supply Networks,
and where the authorised person carries on one or more regulated activities in relation to Industrial Heat Networks or Self-Supply Networks in addition to carrying on one or more regulated activities in relation to any other relevant heat network(s), this authorisation condition shall be construed as if it does not relate to the authorised person's activities in relation to Industrial Heat Networks or Self-Supply Networks.
74 Decision Heat networks regulation: authorisation conditions
Does this apply to you?
Section A applies to every authorised person, so this condition applies to you regardless of whether you operate the network, supply heat over it, or both. The registration checker works out your full set in a few questions. Registration closes on 26 January 2027.