Understanding the small print is key to avoiding hidden costs and requirements when connecting to heat networks.
Examples include:
- Technical specifications that go significantly beyond your normal designs.
- Commissioning and handover requirements that are troublesome to demonstrate or are unclear, leading to different interpretations of what is required. This in turn can lead to occupations occurring before handover to ESCO and non-billing.
- Operational requirements such as a maximum return temperature, which if not met can result in penalty payments to ESCO.
- Poorly defined annual tariff review formulae that enable charges to increase beyond what is considered reasonable.
Careful consideration to the detail of a heat supply contract is required prior to making any commitment to connect. In some instances, this may be prior to a planning application which sometimes make un-caveated commitments to connect.
Posted on January 24th, 2025
Author: Matthew Bailey
Related services: O&M Tendering & Tariff Modelling, ESCO Tendering, Masterplanning & Strategy, Heat Network Performance Evaluation,