A practical guide to the registration process, what information is required, and how to ensure your organisation is ready when Ofgem's digital service opens.
All operators and suppliers of relevant heat networks in Great Britain must register with Ofgem under the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025. Ofgem's digital registration service opens in Spring 2026, with a hard registration deadline of 26 January 2027. Operating after that date without registration is a criminal offence.
This guide explains what registration requires, what information Ofgem will ask for, and the steps operators should take now to ensure they are ready to register without delay when the service opens.
Registration under the 2025 framework is not a simple data exercise. It is Ofgem's mechanism for assessing whether an operator is fit to hold authorisation and has the consumer protection arrangements in place that the Authorisation Conditions require. When you register, you are not just providing technical data about your network — you are demonstrating to Ofgem that you are operating compliantly.
Previous registration does not carry over. Networks registered under the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 must re-register under the new framework. The previous register and the new Ofgem authorisation register are entirely separate.
Deemed authorisation — granted automatically to all operating networks on 27 January 2026 — allows continued operation during the registration period. It does not reduce compliance obligations. Consumer protection conditions were enforceable from 27 January 2026 regardless of registration status.
Registration is required by every person who operates or supplies heat through a relevant heat network in Great Britain. A relevant heat network is one that supplies heat to two or more premises not all owned by the same person. This captures:
Where a network has both a person carrying on the regulated activity of operating and a separate person carrying on the regulated activity of supply, both may need to register as authorised persons depending on their respective roles and obligations under the Authorisation Conditions.
Ofgem's Registration Guidance (January 2026) sets out the information required. Registration involves two broad categories of information:
Information about the legal entity applying for authorisation:
Technical and operational information about each heat network:
Critically, registration will require operators to confirm that their consumer protection arrangements are in place. While Ofgem's digital service will determine the precise attestation and evidence requirements, operators should expect to demonstrate that they have documented policies covering:
Documentation first, registration second. Operators who arrive at the registration portal without completed, compliant documentation will face delays and risk missing the January 2027 deadline. The time to prepare documentation is now — not when the portal opens.
List every heat network you operate or supply. Each relevant network will need to be registered separately.
Determine whether you are the operator, the supplier, or both for each network. This determines which Authorisation Conditions apply.
Collect technical information for each network: fuel source, capacity, consumer numbers, metering arrangements.
Draft and adopt all required policies covering the applicable Authorisation Conditions. Consumer-facing documents must also be in place.
Identify key personnel and complete AC A8 ongoing fit and proper assessments. Document the process and outcomes.
Submit your registration application via Ofgem's digital service when it opens in Spring 2026.
Regulations commenced. All Authorisation Conditions enforceable. Deemed authorisation granted to all active operators.
Ofgem's digital registration service opens. Operators can begin submitting registration applications.
Registration deadline. All operators must have submitted a complete registration application. Operating without registration after this date is a criminal offence.
Housing associations and local authorities that operate heat networks must register in the same way as any other operator. Ofgem estimates that around 66% of existing heat networks are owned or managed by social landlords — making this sector central to the registration process.
Where a local authority or housing association has outsourced network operation to an ESCO or SPV, it is important to establish clearly which entity holds the regulatory obligations. The exemptions in AC A12 and A13 for local authorities acting as landlord apply only in specific, defined circumstances. ESCOs and SPVs are not covered by these exemptions.
Operators with multiple networks register once as an authorised person and then register each relevant network separately. There is no per-network pricing for the authorisation regime — authorisation is held at the entity level. Documentation requirements under the Authorisation Conditions similarly apply at the organisation level: one complaints procedure, one vulnerability policy, one Standards of Conduct policy — adapted where necessary to reflect the characteristics of individual networks.
The Heat Network Compliance platform generates every policy and consumer document you need for registration — 45 templates covering all Authorisation Conditions, built against Ofgem's January 2026 final guidance.
Start Building Your DocumentsThe HNC platform generates bespoke documentation across all 29 Ofgem authorisation conditions. Operators and consultants can be production-ready within days.
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