Can Miatta Fahnbulleh bring clarity to heat networks policy?
Following the latest cabinet reshuffle, Mattia Fahnbulleh has taken the helm at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, bringing with her experience spanning both energy and housing policy. With heat networks sitting at the intersection of these two areas, her appointment could have significant implications for the sector. Switch2 asked our Head of Market Strategy and Heat Networks Champion, Ian Allan, for his thoughts on what the new Energy Secretary’s cross-departmental experience could mean for the future regulation, development and oversight of heat networks.
Miatta Fahnbulleh is no stranger to the heat network sector. Previously the Minister for Energy Consumers, and experience with the Ministry of Housing, she understands both energy regulation and housing policy. That matters, because the sector has a habit of treating all heat networks as though they operate the same way. (And believe it or not, - they don't!)
Two markets, one regulatory framework
Large district heating schemes and residential communal heat networks are fundamentally different beasts.
District heating serves multiple buildings across towns and regeneration areas. It's energy infrastructure. You're looking at long-term investment, heat generation plants, network construction, decarbonisation planning and complex commercial structures. These are capital-intensive projects that need regulatory certainty and investment protection.
Residential heat networks are different. They typically serve apartment buildings or housing development. Day-to-day ownership and operation sit firmly within building management. You're dealing with service charges, metering, maintenance, commissioning issues and the relationships between residents, landlords and managing agents. The technology may be related, but the operational and regulatory context is quite different.
Treating these two markets identically creates friction.
Why this matters right now
Fahnbulleh's role as Minister for Energy Consumers positioned her squarely in heat network policy development. She was involved in advancing consumer protection frameworks, heat network zoning policy and the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS), work that's now embedded in the 2025 regulatory framework governing both district and communal networks.
Her housing minister background is just as relevant. Many of the persistent problems in residential heat networks, poor performance, high bills, inadequate maintenance, aren't caused by energy regulation gaps. They're caused by design and commissioning decisions, ongoing property management failures, and fragmented accountability. It can be argued that all choices a housing developer has for providing heating systems have the similar challenges in this area.
Residents experience cold homes or unexpected bills, but responsibility gets diffused across developers, freeholders, housing associations, managing agents, billing providers and network operators. That fragmentation means consumers often don't know who to hold accountable. It could be argued that his should be sorted out by the housing regulators not the energy regulator.
The core problem: isolation silos
Residential heat networks currently sit awkwardly between departments. Energy policy focuses on decarbonisation and market regulation; housing policy deals with building quality and landlord standards. Consumers, though, don't experience that divide. They simply know their flat is cold or the charge on their service statement seems wrong. They don't distinguish between a technical fault, a landlord obligation and a billing error.
Stronger alignment between energy and housing authorities wouldn't solve everything, but it would improve accountability and reduce the gaps where problems disappear between departments.
What clarity would look like
At Switch2, we believe the sector needs proportionate regulation that acknowledges real differences between these two markets. That doesn't mean separate regulatory regimes. It means energy and housing authorities understanding why a district heating developer has different needs from a managing agent running a residential heat network, and policy reflecting that reality.
Fahnbulleh's cross-departmental experience puts her in a position to make that case. The real test will be whether she can translate that understanding into clearer accountability, workable regulation and a heat network market that functions for investors, operators, landlords and residents alike.
