Communal heating costs are ‘scandalous’

South London residents have spoken out against what they claim are “mind-bogglingly outrageous” community heating bills.

Those affected include residents in blocks using heating and hot water from the North Peckham Heating Network in Southwark, and those with communal boilers from Lambeth Council.

Max Templar received an estimated annual bill of more than £5,000 for his flat in Peckham, and he said that because of the way the system works, even if they had “cold showers for a whole year” they would face “a huge bill”. have to pay.

Southwark Council said the matter was being investigated. Lambeth Council said cost increases were beyond the council’s control and should be passed on to tenants.

Residents on communal heating, or Heat networks are not covered by Ofgem’s energy price ceiling – because they do not buy their gas directly from one of the energy companies that Ofgem regulates.

They are classified as commercial systems, despite often being located in residential buildings.

Mr Templar lives on the Gloucester Grove Estate in Peckham and as a leaseholder, service charges include heating and hot water from the North Peckham heating network.

It has a communal boiler that supplies more than 700 homes in the area.

But his estimated bill for those two things alone is £5,094.17.

“Because the system does not have a meter, you do not pay for what you use, but you pay part of what the entire system consumes,” he explains.

“So even if we turned off all the radiators for a whole year, even if we took cold showers for a year, we would still have to pay a huge bill.”

Heating networks have been criticized by Lambeth residents as unfair.

Zach Mendelsohn has lived in Elkington Point for the past 35 years and said he was in “disbelief” when he realized his bill for 2023-2024 had increased 353%.

He said it was “stunningly outrageous”.

“We don’t even use our heating because the block was renovated 10 years ago and it is very damaged,” he added.

Others living in Lambeth are facing similar bills.

Carole Donaghy, who has lived in her home in Wellington Mills, near Lambeth North, for the past 44 years, said she was so concerned about the costs that she resorted to a credit card to pay her bill.

“I didn’t have the strength…I had enough,” she said.

“I’ve gone numb,” she continued. “I’m a retiree, I don’t have any pension credits.”

A report published by Southwark Council last month admitted that the North Peckham Heat Network, which serves Mr Templar’s home, uses more energy than the borough average.

In a statement, the council said: “There appears to be a specific issue with the cost of mains heating on North Peckham Estate.

“We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation into this issue raised by residents of the estate.

“Our investigation is ongoing and we will continue to meet with residents to notify them directly.”

Lambeth Council said it has long-term gas and electricity contracts in which energy suppliers set the rates, and that extreme inflation in the energy market was responsible for the price increases in 2023-2024.

It added that the costs were out of the council’s control and should be passed on to tenants, but continued to provide support to residents where necessary.

A spokesperson said: “Our aim is to work with residents to create a sensible payment arrangement that suits their affordability and can be paid over a longer period.”