Heat trust appoints industry director as chair

An independent scheme set up to protect customers in the growing district heating industry has named Guru Systems managing director Casey Cole as its first chair.

The Heat Trust, set up in March this year, will offer heat network consumers an independent process for settling disputes and will be overseen by an independent and impartial steering committee.

Casey Cole, managing director of smart prepayment and energy efficiency firm Guru Systems, will lead the impartial steering committee.

The voluntary initiative, set up after two years of collaboration between industry, government and consumer groups will provide a benchmark for best practice and set out a common standard of quality and protection for the supply of heat on onsite energy networks.

Cole said the launch of the trust marks a “pivotal moment for the industry” as district heating continues to grow.

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change around 400,000 homes and 1,700 businesses are connected to 2,000 district heating schemes in what is a rapidly expanding industry.

District heat networks generate heat at a central source and distribute it to a number of buildings or dwellings through insulated pipes, delivering carbon savings and reducing consumer bills compared to traditional gas boiler heating systems.

He added: “Customers of heat networks should have a right to good standards of quality and consumer protection and Heat Trust is an important part of our continued improvement as a sector.

“I am passionate about our industry being both fair and competitive, and I believe the trust can make a real difference to consumers living in homes on heat networks, as well as increasing the standards they can expect from their suppliers.”