Regen, an independent not-for-profit energy consultancy, published The Future of the Gas Grid: planning for a fair and affordable transition on 22 October 2026. The report was commissioned by the MCS Foundation and examines how the gas distribution network is maintained, funded and eventually decommissioned1.
The network currently serves around 25 million customers across Great Britain, while gas demand has fallen by almost 40% since 20041. Regen says the regulatory framework was designed for a large and relatively stable customer base rather than one that will progressively shrink, and that without changes to how costs are recovered, maintaining and paying for the network will fall on fewer customers. It warns this risks leaving households least able to switch to clean heating facing disproportionately high charges1. £1.5bn per year is currently spent on pipe maintenance and replacement1.
The report sets out three priorities: recovering network costs fairly while the customer base remains large; planning for decommissioning through a coordinated, area-based approach rather than individual disconnections; and protecting consumers. Regen's initial analysis suggests area-based decommissioning could reduce disconnection costs by around 65%, potentially avoiding £24bn in expenditure1.
"Ofgem should set out a pathway in the next price control (RIIO-GD4) to depreciate the whole RAV by 2050."
Its other recommendations are that the government should explore a decommissioning fund in its review of network investment and affordability, commission a study of area-based decommissioning, and work with Ofgem on a consumer protection plan so that no household is left trapped on an increasingly expensive network or unable to access clean heat. Ofgem should fund decommissioning pilot programmes during the current price control period, RIIO-GD3 (2026 to 2031), to provide evidence for wider decommissioning in GD4 and beyond1.
| Recommendation | Addressed to |
|---|---|
| Pathway in RIIO-GD4 to depreciate the whole RAV by 2050 | Ofgem |
| Explore a decommissioning fund in the network investment and affordability review | Government |
| Commission a study of area-based decommissioning | Government |
| Fund decommissioning pilots in RIIO-GD3 (2026 to 2031) | Ofgem |
| Plan for consumer protection in decommissioning | Government and Ofgem |
Regen welcomes the government's call for evidence on the recovery of gas network costs during the transition, saying it rightly asserts that the transition "must be orderly, fair and consumer-focused" and that households who cannot yet switch to clean heat should not face unreasonable costs1.
Why it matters for households
Gas network costs are recovered through bills, so how they are spread over a shrinking customer base bears directly on what a household pays for heating. Regen's concern is that homes which cannot yet move to a heat pump or other clean heating, often for financial, practical or technical reasons, could carry a rising share of the cost of pipes serving fewer people1. For a household that has already left gas, the question is whether disconnection is arranged street by street or one property at a time; Regen's estimate that area-based work could cut disconnection costs by around 65% is an early figure from its own analysis, not a settled cost1. Which company operates the pipes in a given area is set out in our guide to who is my distribution network operator; more background sits in the national supply section.
What happens next
The report's recommendations are directed at the current price control period, RIIO-GD3, which runs from 2026 to 2031, and at the next one, RIIO-GD4, which has no dates in the report1. No government or Ofgem response to the report, and no timetable for the decommissioning fund, the area-based study or the consumer protection plan, has been reported1.