District Heating is where households no longer use their own individual heating boiler but get hot water for their heating from waste heat generated by a mini-power station (CHP) or a recycling plant or factory. The heat is being transported through underground pipes and the scheme is meant to cut carbon as well as cost to the users.
But consumers complaint of billing inaccuracies, outages and long-term contracts being unable to change supplier.
As we have seen from the de-regulation of utilities and railways, it takes years or even decades for a new industry to function satisfactorily. It is therefore absolutely vital that the government takes the initiative as soon as new schemes as these being rolled out, to put in place robust regulation and to set up a powerful arbitration procedure to protect customers.