BE24052 - Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) Shadow Service Provider

**Please note this is an award notice, not a competition. This contract has been awarded via the Crown Commercial Services - RM6313 - Demand Management and Renewables DPS **

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has a requirement to appoint a supplier to support the design and operation of the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) pilot programme.

The Energy Act 2023 provides for Ofgem to be appointed as regulator of the heat networks sector and grants Ofgem the power to authorise individuals to operate heat networks and undertake supply activity. Ofgem will grant authorisation to a heat network operator, provided that the operator's network meets certain authorisation conditions. The Energy Act provides for compliance with minimum technical standards to be included as one of these conditions. This lays the foundation for technical standards secondary legislation which is expected to come into force in 2025 to introduce mandated minimum technical standards for heat networks (e.g. mandating requirements on water flow temperatures, pipe insulation, etc). All heat networks (existing and new) across a range of different characteristics (large city sized district heating to single block communal networks) will be in scope of this requirement.

To promote compliance with these minimum technical standards, we are developing a Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS). The technical specification which sets out the minimum technical standards that heat network suppliers will need to adhere to, and that will be subject to assurance, is being written and is expected to be completed in early 2024. Work is also underway to develop the assurance processes themselves, i.e. the procedures to assess compliance. Together, the technical specification and assurance processes represent normative documents, i.e. a set of documents describing what heat suppliers must do. Once legislation is in place, it is intended to designate these normative documents as a Code, adherence to which will be required in regulation.