Changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme
The RHI Regulations were amended in April 2022.
There is a new requirement for recipients claiming Non Domestic RHI payments from the Government; a declaration is now required proving that suitable routine and ongoing maintenance (called Planned and Preventative Maintenance – PPM) to a specific Standard has been undertaken on their appliance.
Regulation 40 provides for an ongoing obligation relating to maintenance of boilers and provides for approval of equivalent standards by the Secretary of State.
Recipients of Non Domestic RHI now need to do the following to maintain payments;
(a)ensure that, in each payment year, a maintenance check is carried out in relation to the boiler (“annual maintenance check”);
(b)following the end of each payment year, provide to the Authority (Currently Ofgem) a declaration stating that—
(i)the annual maintenance check has been carried out; and
(ii)the maintenance standard has been met.
Frequently Asked Questions
The HETAS team has pulled together some of the more common questions in relation to the regulation changes.
What do I need to do?
The RHI Regulations, Part 47A (3) & (4) state;
(3) Participants must retain evidence (including service and maintenance invoices, receipts or certificates) of the matters stated in the declaration for the duration of their participation in the Scheme and must provide the Authority with that evidence when requested to do so.
(4) A document issued by HETAS (or an equivalent body) certifying that the boiler has been assessed against a maintenance standard may be accepted as evidence that the maintenance standard has been met.
Only businesses registered on the HETAS Approved Biomass Maintenance Scheme can notify boilers to issue a HETAS Document for maintenance completed by them. You can search for a local or national registered biomass maintenance businesses on our website.
Implementation of the Regulations are from April 2022, to allow consumers time to obtain the necessary documentation and comply. Ofgem will likely start mandating evidence from recipients in 2023, however, they continue to be able to request this at any time.
Planned and preventative Maintenance is typically an annual serve, or a period specified by the manufacturer, to fully service appliances for optimum operation.
Currently, in line with the amended regulations HETAS operate the only scheme that registers competent maintenance businesses that can provide evidence of satisfactory PPM.
The Regulations (47A, 4) detail ‘a document issued by HETAS’ to be provided to the RHI recipient. The registered business will need to complete a notification of maintenance via the HETAS online portal and will provide a record of all notified activities. A notification is then issued electronically by HETAS, to the client (recipient) provided.
HETAS operate an easy, free to use business search function. You can search by boiler output size and/or boiler manufacturer. You can also search for a National or Local company.
There is no requirement to appoint a business that has your boiler manufacturer listed in their search criteria, however we advise recipients to select carefully. Your boiler manufacturer may stipulate only their trained personal can maintain your appliance.
Where the boiler requires refurbishment or repair to ‘fully service an appliance for optimum operation’ then this would be classed as PPM and fall within the standard (taken from Part 2; Definitions within the Standard).
If it is deemed non-routine maintenance, then this may fall outside of the Standard. It is only the boiler itself that the Standard covers. Typically, it is the annual or run rate routine maintenance.
Yes. The RHI Regulations have been amended and now require the participant, who has a boiler which generates heat using solid biomass as fuel to complete an “maintenance check” in each payment year.
A Standard (MCS040) was derived from industry consultation as a means of ensuring appropriate businesses have documented procedures and set aligned competency, including defining the service groups (appliance output etc.)
The Standard requires the participant to have a ’document issued by HETAS’ certifying that the boiler has been assessed against (MCS040) and demonstrating the Planned and Preventative Maintenance (PPM) has been completed.
HETAS operate the only recognised Biomass Maintenance Scheme. Maintenance will need to be completed by a HETAS Biomass Maintenance Scheme registered business to comply with the Standard.
Implementation of the Regulations are from April 2022, to allow consumers time to obtain the necessary documentation and comply. Ofgem will likely start mandating evidence from recipients in 2023, however, they continue to be able to request this at any time.
The Regulations detail ‘a document issued by HETAS’ to be provided to the RHI recipient. The registered business will need to complete a notification of maintenance via the HETAS online portal and will provide a record of all notified activities. A notification is then issued electronically by HETAS, to the client (recipient) provided. HETAS may be requested to provide electronic notification data to Ofgem.
The Servicing Engineer will also provide their client with the PPM form and keep a copy for their records
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