Do I still have to notify my heat network under the 2014 regulations?

Not in Great Britain. DESNZ states that the duty to notify and the use of the cost-effectiveness tool have been revoked and that there is no longer a requirement to send notifications to the HNMB Regulations Authority. In Northern Ireland the 2014 and 2020 obligations are unaffected and notification to DESNZ continues.

Can heat cost allocators still be used instead of meters?

Not to demonstrate compliance with the obligation to install meters under the metering and billing regulations in Great Britain. DESNZ states this directly in its February 2026 guidance update.

Guide

What changed for the 2014 metering and billing regulations

Updated 2026-08-14

If a compliance page still tells you to notify your heat network to the HNMB Regulations Authority, it has not been updated since January 2026.

The change, in DESNZ's words

"The Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2026 were introduced on 27 January 2026. To prevent duplicate obligations on heat suppliers, this included a partial revocation of the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations (HNMB Regulations) in Great Britain. Under the new Regulations, Ofgem have assumed their role as the regulator for heat networks, which provides protection for heat network consumers" (gov.uk).

What was revoked in Great Britain

The duty to notify, and the use of the cost-effectiveness tool. DESNZ states there is no longer a requirement to send notifications to the HNMB Regulations Authority.
The 'Open' building classification, revoked in January 2026, simplifying the requirement to install meters to buildings that are viable plus those already required to install as the outcome of a former assessment in the open class.
The repeat assessment. Suppliers with buildings in the open class where an assessment found metering was not cost effective are no longer required to repeat that assessment within 4 years of the earlier one.

What survives

Maintain existing meters. Operational networks supplying customers before 27 January 2026 must maintain meters where they are already present on networks supplying heating, cooling or hot water.
Finish installations already required. Where a not-yet-operational network completed a cost-effectiveness assessment before 27 January 2026 that identified a metering requirement, and installation has not happened, the obligation to install remains.
Heat cost allocators no longer count. DESNZ states they "can no longer be used to demonstrate compliance with the obligation to install meters under HNMB Regulations in Great Britain".
Building classes still matter. Viable means meters must be installed; exempt means they do not have to be.

Northern Ireland is a separate answer

"Heat Network (Metering & Billing) Regulations 2014 and 2020 obligations are unaffected, and will remain in force in Northern Ireland." NI heat suppliers continue to use the cost-effectiveness tool and to notify DESNZ, emailing the department to be sent a link to a secure zone for the notification upload, after reading the user guide and completing the notification template. DESNZ has taken on receiving and processing those notifications and verifying that metering devices are installed, accurate and operating correctly, and that billing requirements are met. It notes the regulations continue in Northern Ireland until repealed, replaced or amended, while the Department for the Economy develops a future framework.

Enforcement did not go away

DESNZ states that the Department also assumed responsibility for enforcement of the HNMB Regulations across Great Britain, for the remaining regulations, and in Northern Ireland on behalf of the Secretary of State, and that it will continue to assess and address non-compliance. Ofgem has separately published enforcement guidelines and a penalty policy for the authorisation regime.

Two regulators, two regimes, one set of pipes. Establish which duty sits with which body before you answer a tenant or a lender's question.