Heat Trust extends consumer protection scheme to 2028 as Ofgem compensation rules slip

Heat Trust has extended its consumer protection scheme for heat network customers to March 2028, more than a year beyond its planned closure, after Ofgem's timetable for statutory compensation rules slipped.

The scheme had been due to end on 26 January 2027, the date by which full statutory protections for heat network customers were expected to be in place following Ofgem's takeover as regulator for the sector in January 2026, Heat Trust said in its announcement on 23 October.

Heat Trust said Ofgem's timetable for introducing Guaranteed Standards of Performance (GSOP) for all heat networks "has slipped considerably", with a consultation on the regulator's proposals now expected later this year.

Stephen Knight, Chief Executive of Heat Trust, said: "It is unfortunate that Ofgem's statutory Guaranteed Standards of Performance won't be in place next year, as originally intended, but we are determined that consumers currently protected by our scheme will not lose these key protections because of this delay."

Who is covered

As a result of the extension, almost 100,000 households on sites registered with the scheme will keep their right to compensation for supply outages, Heat Trust said. Around 12,000 households in vulnerable circumstances will also retain the requirement that alternative heating is provided within 12 hours of an outage.

The Heat Trust Scheme is an independent not-for-profit consumer protection scheme that sets minimum guaranteed standards of customer service for heat network providers, including compensation for longer supply outages and access to the Energy Ombudsman. It is operated by Heat Customer Protection Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales.

Knight said: "Heat networks have an important role to play in delivering lower-carbon heat, but that transition will only work if consumers have confidence that they are properly protected."

The rule change

The extension follows a consultation on a change to the scheme's rules. According to Heat Trust's consultation page, the proposal was to widen the grounds on which it could extend the Scheme End Date beyond 26 January 2027, specifically to prevent customers losing the scheme's GSOP protections. Heat Trust said the statutory equivalents would not now be in place until "significantly later" than the original end date.

The decision notice published on Heat Trust's scheme transition page sets the new Scheme End Date at 31 March 2028. The same page says Ofgem became the statutory heat networks regulator on 27 January 2026 and is taking a phased approach to implementing its standards and functions.

The extension marks a shift from Heat Trust's earlier public position. Its "coming regulation" explainer said most Ofgem regulations were planned to be in place and enforced by January 2027, and that Heat Trust expected to continue its scheme only until equivalent Ofgem rules were in place and enforced, which it then expected in early 2027. The same page noted that Ofgem planned to consult during 2026 on further authorisation conditions to phase in at a later point, including guaranteed standards of performance.

Heat Trust has said its scheme rules are the foundation on which Ofgem's formal regulations are built.

The statutory regime

Ofgem's regulation timeline page confirms that heat network regulation is being introduced in phases. Operators and suppliers of relevant heat networks must submit details of their organisation, ownership, financial resilience and consumer protection arrangements to Ofgem by 26 January 2027, the date Heat Trust had originally set for its scheme to close.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said at the launch of the regime that more than 500,000 heat network customers would be shielded from unfair energy price spikes, with compensation for service outages awarded through the Energy Ombudsman. Martin McCluskey MP, Minister for Energy Consumers, said at the time that customers on heat networks had been unprotected for too long.

That figure compares with the almost 100,000 households Heat Trust says are now protected on its registered sites. In April 2025 Heat Trust put the scheme's coverage at over 85,000 homes and micro-businesses across Britain, when it welcomed the opening of the Energy Ombudsman to all heat network consumers, including those not covered by its scheme, for the first time.

What happens next

Heat Trust said all heat suppliers are due to be registered with Ofgem by 26 January 2027, and that it will continue to operate during the transition to maintain continuity of consumer protection.

Ofgem's consultation on its GSOP proposals is expected later this year, according to Heat Trust. The Heat Trust Scheme will now run until 31 March 2028.