𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Ed Miliband will splash over £11billion of taxpayer cash to create mega heat networks across the UK in a net zero drive to replace boilers, the Express can reveal.

The Energy Secretary is working on major plans with five councils that could eventually see a fifth of Britons forced onto shared heating systems in the biggest heating shake-up in decades.

Under the hefty £11.4billion plans, individual gas boilers will be replaced with a central heating plant that warms water in one location and pumps it through underground pipes to hundreds of thousands of households.

Hospitals, universities, factories, sports facilities and police stations are among the buildings that would immediately lose control of their own boilers and rely on a shared public heating system for warmth and hot water.

Mr Miliband has previously said he wants heat networks to serve a fifth of UK households by 2050, according to The Times. This would mean five million homes – predominantly in council estates and tower blocks – will be moved to the systems in a “net zero blast for bills”.

Once a heat network zone has been established, the councils will require any new buildings in the area to connect.

Campaigners have warned bills could skyrocket for households affected, with a small number of existing heat network customers reporting price hikes of up to 700% and tariffs that are not protected by the energy price cap. There are also growing concerns regarding the reliability of the technology.

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: “The costs of Ed Miliband’s net zero madness keep piling up. People want warm homes and affordable bills not heat pumps or eye-wateringly expensive communal heating systems that will leave people trapped with no choice of energy provider.

“Only Reform has the courage to scrap Net Zero, keep gas boilers and lower your energy bills.

“We will scrap these bonkers plans from Red Ed to save taxpayers billions of pounds.”

Plymouth Council will be awarded a staggering £4.2billion from Mr Milliband’s department for Energy and Net Zero to participate in the Advanced Zoning Programme (AZP) for 70 years until 2096.

Meanwhile, Leeds City Council will be handed a similar £3.5billion agreement to collaborate with private contractors on energy supply and maintenance services. Additionally, £1.2 billion has been allocated to Sheffield Council, £1.97 billion to the City of London, and £1.7 billion to Trafford, Greater Manchester.

Andrew Montford, the director of Net Zero Watch, said: “This latest catastrophe confirms what has been clear for years: Ed Miliband is a real and present danger to the economy and to the livelihoods of everyone in the country.”

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said: “Our mission is for clean power by 2030 because this is the best way to achieve energy security and protect bill payers.

“Heat networks will play a crucial role in this with communities benefiting from low-cost and efficient heat systems.”