Half a million households will see their energy bills fall under a government crackdown to help tenants trapped on business tariffs announced on Tuesday. Residents in buildings with communal heating systems currently pay some of the highest energy costs and cannot switch tariffs due to a lack of regulation. These rates can be as high as 50p/kWh – which is double regulator Ofgem’s average price of 24.5p/kWh. However, from next year, communal networks will qualify for residential energy deals and tenants will be able to file complaints to the Energy Ombudsman, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero today said. It comes six years after the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) first called on the Government to regulate heat networks, after an investigation found that residents were “paying too much” and receiving a “poor-quality service”. The Telegraph previously revealed how despite a lack of regulation, the Government has pushed to install hundreds more heat networks across Britain. Over the next three years, it has committed £530m of funding to expand the scheme in a net zero push. Stephen Knight, of non-profit consumer champion Heat Trust, said the “long-standing gap in regulation” has led to “extreme consumer detriment” – particularly...