Heat networks: How to prepare for registration

Details

What is registration

Operators and suppliers of relevant heat networks must give us details about their heat network's organisation, ownership, financial resilience and consumer protection arrangements by 26 January 2027. This is called registration. 

From April 2026, you can submit this information using our digital service, ‘Comply with heat networks consumer protection regulations’.

Find out more about who needs to register.

How to access the service

If your organisation is a regulated heat network operator or supplier

Each heat network operator or supplier must nominate a ‘regulatory contact’. This is your organisation’s most senior member of staff with responsibility for heat networks.

You can change the regulatory contact in the future if you need to.

The regulatory contact must:

1. Sign in to or create a GOV.UK One Login account.
2. Complete the organisation account creation process. 

If you’re signing up for the first time, you must use your individual work email address (or, if you’re a sole trader, a business email address you use for your professional activities). 

Do not use a shared mailbox email address. If you need to provide other people with access to the service, you’ll be able to invite team members individually after you’ve signed up.

Read further guidance on creating a GOV.UK One Login account. 

If you’re a third party acting on behalf of a regulated operator or supplier

You’ll need to ask the operator or supplier to create an account or sign in to the digital service. They can then add you as a user and give you the necessary user permissions based on which actions they want you to carry out. 

After this, you’ll be able to use the service on their behalf. 

Adding users and setting permissions

The regulatory contact can add further users to the organisation’s account.

For each new user, we require the following details:

• email address
• first and last name
• work contact number
• confirmation on whether they work for a third party, like a metering or billing agent that’s acting on behalf of the organisation

Once all the details have been entered, we’ll send the new user email confirmation that they’ve been added to the account.

You can then set their user permissions, which include:

• viewing all heat network information
• adding or editing heat network information
• sending us heat network information
• managing users 

Registration journey overview

The heat networks registration process is divided into sections that you can complete separately. At certain points you can save your progress so that you can come back and continue later.

The stages of the registration journey are:

• GOV.UK One Login account creation
• heat networks digital service account creation
• adding users and setting permissions
• organisation details
• fit and proper declaration for everybody with significant managerial responsibility or influence (SMRI)
• introductory information
• technical information
• customers and metering
• consumer protections
• billing
• other suppliers

Registering each heat network is another separate stage. Depending on your organisation and the network, you’ll have to provide information in some or all of the following sections:

Information you need to complete registration

Organisation level information 

Some of the information we require is at an organisational level, for example:

• type of organisation and company details
• ownership structure, including details of any parent companies
• accounts and finances (so we can understand how your organisation manages risk of insolvency and related obligations)
• a fit and proper declaration for everybody with SMRI

Heat network‑specific information

Some of the information we require is specific to each heat network, for example:

• the regulated activities being undertaken (operation, supply, or both)
• type and configuration (district, communal, self-supply, industrial, shared ground loop)
• technical specifications and energy source
• customer information (types, numbers and vulnerability)
• continuity plan status
• complaints management process
• compliance declarations

What happens if I'm an operator, supplier or both

Operator only

If you’re only the operator of a specific heat network and not the supplier, then it’s your responsibility to start the registration process.

You must ask your suppliers to create an account for our service so that you can invite them to register their heat network supply activity later. You can only invite suppliers that have an account.

As the operator, you’ll be asked to complete the following sections:

• introduction
• technical information (if it’s a district heat network, or a communal heat network with an energy centre)
• other suppliers (if the heat network has multiple suppliers and either has buildings, or is communal)

Once you've submitted the operator heat network registration, we’ll notify your suppliers that they need to provide their heat network supply information. 

Supplier only

If your role on a heat network only covers supply, then you should create an organisational account. This is so that the operator can find you on the list of suppliers and invite you to register your heat network supply activity. 

As a supplier, you’ll be asked to complete the following sections:

• customers and metering (if the heat network is not self-supply and either has buildings, or is communal)
• consumer protections (if the heat network has domestic, microbusiness or small business customers and either has buildings, or is communal)
• billing (if the heat network is not an industrial network and either has buildings, or is communal)
• technical information (if it’s a district heat network, or a communal heat network with an energy centre)
• customers and metering (if the heat network is not self-supply and either has buildings, or is communal)
• consumer protections (if the heat network has domestic, microbusiness or small business customers and either has buildings, or is communal)
• billing (if the heat network is not an industrial network and either has buildings, or is communal)
• other suppliers (if the heat network has multiple suppliers and either has buildings, or is communal)

Operator and supplier

If you’re both the operator and supplier of a heat network, then you’ll be able to complete the whole registration process. The system will only show you the questions that are relevant to you. 

As both operator and supplier, you’ll be asked to complete the following sections: 

• technical information (if it’s a district heat network, or a communal heat network with an energy centre)
• customers and metering (if the heat network is not self-supply and either has buildings, or is communal)
• consumer protections (if the heat network has domestic, microbusiness or small business customers and either has buildings, or is communal)
• billing (if the heat network is not an industrial network and either has buildings, or is communal)
• other suppliers (if the heat network has multiple suppliers and either has buildings, or is communal)