Missed the heat network registration deadline? What to do
Ofgem says existing heat networks must be registered by 26 January 2027. If yours isn't, or you've only just found out your block has a heat network, here's how to put it right.
Last checked against official sources: 5 October 2026
First, check you're in scope
Make sure your building has a regulated heat network and isn't exempt. Our free scope check takes a few minutes. If you are exempt, keep a written record of how you reached that view.
What Ofgem has said
Ofgem's registration guidance requires operators and suppliers with deemed authorisation to register by the deadline. It doesn't set out specific consequences for registering late.
Ofgem's enforcement guidelines say its priority in the first year is to get a good understanding of the sector, with proportionate and pragmatic regulation. They also set out the tools Ofgem can use where the rules are breached, including financial penalties, consumer redress orders, provisional and final orders, and revocation of authorisation.
The authorisation conditions apply whether or not you have registered, so the consumer protections matter as much as the form.
How to catch up
- Confirm who operates and who supplies the network.
- Put the essentials in place: a complaints procedure, a Priority Services Register and a continuity plan, then tell residents about the complaints procedure.
- Gather the registration details: organisation, financial resilience indicators, network and customer information, and the people for the fit and proper declaration.
- Register on Ofgem's digital service as soon as you can, and keep the confirmation email with your unique ID.
- Join the Energy Ombudsman scheme if you haven't already.
- Record what you did and when, and why it was late, in your board minutes.
If you can't register yet
If something is stopping you, such as a dispute over who the operator is, write down the steps you're taking and keep moving. Contact Ofgem if you need guidance on your situation.
Questions
- Is it too late to register after 26 January 2027?
- Register as soon as you can. Ofgem's guidance doesn't set out specific consequences for late registration, but the authorisation conditions apply either way.
- Will we be fined?
- We can't say. Ofgem says it will regulate proportionately in the first year, but it can use financial penalties and other enforcement tools where the rules are breached.
- We only found out we have a heat network. Where do we start?
- Start with the scope check, then the roles, then the complaints procedure, Priority Services Register and continuity plan.
Sources
Related guides
How to register a heat network with Ofgem
A step-by-step guide to registering an existing heat network on Ofgem's digital service by 26 January 2027: who registers, what you need and what happens next.
Ofgem heat network regulation: what it means for leasehold blocks
What Ofgem heat network regulation means for blocks of flats with communal heating: who is responsible, what applies now and the 2027 deadline.
Heat network complaints procedure: what Ofgem requires
What Ofgem requires of a heat network complaints procedure: what to include, telling residents every year, keeping records and the 8-week Ombudsman route.