The company has been shortlisted in three of the eight award categories – marking its achievements in community and district heating over the past four decades.

Switch2's head of customer services Fiona McDonald is in the running for the Champion award recognising her leadership in raising standards of customer service excellence in the heat network industry and her recent appointment to the Heat Trust Committee, which leads customer protection for the district heating sector.

A new solution to improve heat network efficiency and reliability has earned the company a place on the Innovation Award shortlist. The new Switch2 Optimise solution remotely monitors both metering and Building Energy Management (BEMs) via a smart portal, providing the company's engineers with full visibility of system performance and the detailed insights required to improve operation and maintenance.

The company is also in contention for the Domestic Award – for its smart metering partnership with Wolverhampton Homes, which is delivering affordable heat to customers.