via Manchester (UK) Evening News & Yahoo News UK
Summary
Residents whose homes could soon be powered by a council-installed energy system would NOT be protected by Ofgem’s price cap, it is feared.
Manchester council is currently redeveloping Wythenshawe Civic Centre, with the £500m project promising a new culture hub, food hall, public square, and shops. There will also be 1,750 new homes, including affordable properties and supported accommodation.
The authority has now confirmed it has commissioned a ‘techno-economic feasibility study’ to install ‘a district energy network’ in the development. District energy networks, also called heat networks, connect several properties to one source of energy and use by-product warm air to heat buildings.
They promise to be a more efficient way of keeping the lights on and radiators warm as there is less wasted heat, which also makes them more sustainable as less energy is required. But such networks are not subject to Ofgem’s price cap, which means customers can be charged far more per energy unit used.
The government is currently drawing up legislation to control the networks, but a spokesperson confirmed the price cap will not be applied from January 2026, when Ofgem starts regulating them. Instead a ‘fair funding framework’ will be introduced to ‘to provide fair and not disproportionate prices’, they added.
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