Today in Parliament, Munira presented a petition on behalf of sixty-seven local residents who have been left unprotected by Ofgem’s cap on energy prices.
These residents are among the 400,000 Londoners whose homes are connected to heat networks (also known as communal boiler systems), where heat is generated at a single source to keep multiple households warm. Unlike domestic boilers, heat networks are not regulated by Ofgem, meaning the energy caps do not apply.
Local residents living in a number of developments connected to heat networks are facing a terrifying increase in their energy bills of 560%. The lack of regulation means that they will be paying nearly 50p per unit of energy compared to 15p for a typical gas customer.
Munira’s petition calls on the Government to provide full, immediate support to households connected to heat networks and subsidise the excess cost of their bills over the energy price cap set by Ofgem. It also urges Ministers to fast-track legislation to introduce the regulation of communal heat systems.
After presenting the petition, Munira said:
“Whilst the rising Ofgem energy price cap has left many households struggling to get by, hundreds of thousands of people in London do not even have that safety net.
“Households on communal heat networks, many of whom live in social housing, have been utterly forgotten by this Government and left living in fear over what the future holds.
“As our new Prime Minister finally gets down to business on energy bills, I hope she will listen to the calls of this petition. The Government must step in and freeze energy bills across the board this winter.”