Connecting the Pipes: A Joined Up Approach to Delivering Clean Heat by 2040

If Government is serious about transforming how the UK heats its homes and buildings, heat networks must be treated as essential national infrastructure. They require the same clarity of responsibility, accountability and long-term planning that underpin electricity, gas and water networks.

The case for this has become increasingly clear. In recent years the UK has experienced stark reminders of the risks inherent in relying on imported fossil fuels for heat. In 2022 a surge in global gas prices exposed the vulnerability of the gas market to geopolitical shocks, costing the nation £40bn in a single winter and leaving millions of households facing impossible choices and mounting energy bill debt.

Heat sits at the centre of the energy system’s biggest challenges:

• How can people live and work in affordable comfort?
• How can communities make the best use of local resources?
• What is the fairest way to invest across the whole energy system?
• How can the heat transition unlock opportunities for economic growth?

To date, our approach has been too incremental. Meeting these challenges requires thinking at a different scale. We need to build an economy of low-carbon networked heat: one that unlocks the UK’s abundant domestic heat sources and connects them efficiently to homes, buildings and industry. This report sets out the sector’s vision for making that economy a reality.

Achieving this will require a shift in mindset and a far greater alignment of investment, policy, planning and skills across Government, industry and communities. This report sets out the challenge to both Government and industry. The opportunity is clear; the responsibility now is to deliver.