SSE to cut domestic heat tariff by 4.6 per cent

SSE will cut its heat tariff unit rate by 4.6 per cent for its 4,500 domestic heat network customers from 1 May.

The move is in line with a general reduction in domestic gas prices and follows SSE’s price freeze last year, which will remain in place until 2016, the supplier said.

SSE’s heat networks manager Jody Pittaway added that the the price reduction will “reassure the company’s domestic heat network customers that it is committed to providing their heat supply at a competitive rate”.

The domestic heat network uses a series of insulated pipes to deliver heat, in the form of hot water or steam, to people’s homes from a localised energy centre.

This removes the need for each home to have an individual boiler, making it an affordable and energy efficient way of heating homes and providing hot water.

Green groups have been calling for more government support for decentralised energy, which can reduce transmission losses and lower carbon emissions.

In July 2014, a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research urged city and local authorities to support and invest in local generation schemes, which could “rival the big six energy companies” through decentralised generation.

In March this year, the Association for Decentralised Energy appealed to the next government to establish a new district heating policy to unlock a potential £1.6 billion worth of investment.