Heat network energy customers might soon be able to file legal action against their operators.

These flats have their energy supplied through a communal heating system, based on a commercial contract their housing provider negotiates with an energy company.

This results in their bills not being capped as it happens with all other flats on normal meters.

Last year, a report by the National Housing Federation estimated that recent contracts were as much as 500% more expensive than in 2021, with bills in low-usage homes projected to rise by as much as £68 a week.

It has been reported that during the current energy price shocks some heat network consumers have been hit by price rises as high as 700%.

Law firm Leigh Day is currently investigating whether affected customers may have grounds for a legal claim under a breach of contract and the competition law.

Leigh Day Solicitor Leonardo Gonzalez said: “It is concerning to read reports of enormous price increases hitting heat network consumers, often already overstretched by the cost of living crisis.

“I believe there are legal avenues that could be explored to offer some means of redress to these consumers who feel unprotected and powerless in this unregulated sector.”