Regulation of district-heating systems

District heating plays a major role in many countries' heating markets. Unlike natural gas and electric power utilities, district-heating systems are commonly not subject to direct economic regulation, particularly with regard to prices. This article examines the possibility of regulating district-heating systems and the difficulties associated with practical implementation using the example of the German district-heating market. It considers, from an economic perspective, regulation of access to district-heating systems as well as regulation of pricing by district-heating systems. Ex-ante and ex-post regulation of retail prices are considered. Finally, some ideas for the further development of district-heating regulation are suggested.