Greendykes & Wauchope House Communal Heating

Overview

Homes in Greendykes and Wauchope House are heated through a communal heating system. Tenants pay for their heating through a set weekly charge of £6.92, called Heat with Rent (HWR). 

Every 6 months, information on actual energy use is used to calculate if tenants paid more than they actually used and the Council refund (or abate) the difference. Unfortunately, some meters no longer work and accurate billing cannot be provided. When this happens, an average abatement is provided to tenants.

The type of meters in homes are now out of date and cannot be fixed if there is an issue. This means that new smart meters need to be installed. New smart meters would give tenants more information about their energy use so they have more control over how much heating they want to use.

The Housing Service is funded by income from rent and other charges, like HWR. This is paid into a fund called the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which then pays for housing services and investment to build new homes. We need to make sure that heating charges provide value for money for the HRA and all tenants.

The Council is currently looking at installing new smart prepayment meters. This would give tenants more control and information about how much energy they’re using and how much they want to spend on their heating. New smart prepayment meters also give more options to top up, e.g. by going online, which is more flexible for tenants and can be done when it suits them. Any future tariff would be based on the costs of running the heating system while ensuring it’s still affordable for tenants. We’d work with expert and experienced providers to deliver any new billing system.

Why your views matter

We want to hear what is important to tenants and what we can do to support them through any potential changes to the way they pay for their heating.