Frequently asked questions
A heat network is a way of heating homes using one large heating system instead of lots of separate boilers. The heat is made in a central plant room and sent through pipes to homes on the network. The hot water from these pipes is then used for:
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Heating your home
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Hot water from your taps
Yes - SHG can arrange an interest free repayment plan, which will clear your heat account debt, giving you instant access to your heating and hot water.
Contact: Stockport Homes Energy Advice Team on 0161 474 4062 or email [email protected]
Your heat tariff is based on the cost of producing heat across the whole estates system.
Brinnington, Heat &Norris, Lancashire Hill, Victoria Park, York Street are ‘dual fuel’ sites, using both gas and biomass to generate heat. Birch Court, Croft House and Hopes Carr use only gas, but the way we calculate the tariff is the same
At each site we:
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Combine the cost of gas and biomass fuels, plus electricity used to pump hot water to all properties.
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Use actual fuel use and heat generation data from previous years.
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Set a single price per kWh of heat for your scheme.
This ensures you pay for the heat you use, measured by your meter.
In simple terms: Total system cost ÷ total heat supplied = your price per kWh
Yes.
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A daily standing charge applies to all heat metered accounts
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Customers must pay the standing charge, even if they do not use the system, as the meter must be maintained and support services are available regardless
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The charge is the same for all customers, regardless of property size or scheme
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The standing charge covers metering and billing, customer service and support
It’s not reasonable to compare the 2 different unit rates as gas is a fuel and heat is a product. It’s like comparing the cost of diesel / petrol / electricity to the pence per mile. Or the cost of the various ingredients of a cake, to the cost of the final cake. SHG buys gas and biomass as fuels and burns them to create heat, which is sold as a product to customers. The more appropriate comparison is how much it costs to heat a property for a year.
The UK national average heating bill is £971 and for SHG customer average is £700.
Costs vary depending on actual usage:
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Your home size
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How often you use heating and hot water
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Your thermostat settings
Because of this, it’s not possible to give a fixed hourly cost.
However, your meter ensures you only pay for what you actually use.
Average annual heating costs for SHG customers with heat meters is £700.
No — tariffs vary slightly between sites.
This is because each site is different in terms of:
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Size and number of homes
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Type and age of equipment
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Heat demand and usage patterns
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Operating and maintenance costs
Each site has its own tariff so that customers only pay for the true cost of their specific system — nothing more.
Yes — fairness is a key principle of how tariffs are set.
We ensure this by:
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Setting tariffs annually using real cost data
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Smoothing out fluctuations (e.g. seasonal demand changes)
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Charging the same rate regardless of whether gas or biomass is being used
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Procuring gas / biomass / electricity through competitive tendering
This means:
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You are protected from sudden price spikes
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You don’t pay more depending on which fuel is used
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Costs are spread fairly across all users over time
The tariff is set once per year using average data.
While demand changes day-to-day:
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These variations are balanced over the year
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This avoids customers paying more during low-use periods
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This approach ensures stable and predictable pricing.
We ensure value for money by:
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Purchasing gas, biomass and electricity through competitive tendering
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Regularly reviewing contracts to ensure prices remain competitive
This helps keep costs as low as possible for customers.
Biomass systems were installed as a low-carbon heating solution.
Crucially:
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Customers are charged the same heat tariff regardless of fuel
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This means you are not financially disadvantaged by the choice of technology