Portsmouth Climate Action Network

Do you remember our bit about the EU Renewables Directive and UK government targets for renewable energy generation?

Noticed a lot of energy companies advertising their green credentials on the television and in the newspapers recently?

Well there’s a connection…

The government has required UK licensed electricity suppliers to obtain a proportion of the electricity they sell from a selection of eligible renewable sources (such as wind and solar power) since April 2002. This is known as the renewable obligation. Each year the percentage rises with the ultimate goal being to achieve 20% by 2020. Energy suppliers have to publish annually their fuel mix data. As at 31 March 2007 only 4.7% of the average UK’s energy company fuel mix came from renewables against a renewable obligation requirement of 7.9%.

You can see the statistics for each supplier on the energywatch website by clicking the link below:

http://www.energywatch.org.uk/help_and_advice/green_tariffs/fuel_mix_disclosure.asp

The government records the generation of electricity via Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). These store in digital form details of how electricity was generated, who generated it, and who eventually used it. For every 1,000 units (1MWh) of electricity an energy company generates from renewable sources they receive one ROC. A company that generates more than its renewable obligation can sell ROCs to energy suppliers who have failed to meet their target. In theory power companies are financially motivated to invest in renewable energy generation projects.

The price of one ROC is set by the market and reflects the size of the difference between the percentage of renewable energy electricity generated in the UK and the renewable obligation percentage. The bigger the shortfall, the more expensive each ROC and the more green electricity generators are rewarded for their efforts. Some energy companies “retire” ROC’s each year to encourage the price to rise. This should in theory increase the attractiveness of generating energy from renewable sources.

Why switch to a green tariff?

You’ve probably figured out by now that a “green tariff” relates to the use of renewable sources (wind, solar etc) and a “brown tariff” to the burning of fossil fuels (coal, gas etc).

Sourcing electricity from renewable sources not only helps to reduce your carbon footprint but these sources are also sustainable (provided the wind keeps blowing and the sun keeps shining). By switching from a traditional fossil fuel or “brown tariff” you are also sending a message to your existing supplier about your positive attitude towards sustainable resources.

However…genuinely green tariffs are currently more expensive (for a number of reasons) although in time with more windfarms etc is should become more comparable with brown electricity. So if you are not prepared to spend a bit more money on electricity to reduce your carbon emissions and make a statement then you might not want to read on…

OK how much CO2 can I save in a year?

Great you’re still with us!

Well to take a simple example of a home with an annual electricity bill of around £250 it is estimated that you can save just under 1 tonne of CO2. That’s roughly 10% of the likely total carbon footprint of the average person in the UK. That’s a great start!

But I have gas and electricity!

Sorry, the mains gas is a fossil fuel and burning it in your domestic boiler is producing CO2. But one step at a time eh.

So what choices do I have on “green tariffs”?

This is where it get’s fiendishly difficult – so much so that Friends of the Earth have given up on producing a league table of green suppliers.

The problem (and the Advertising Standards Authority are beginning to wield the stick here) is that 100% doesn’t always mean 100%. There is currently only one electricity supply company that buys and sells only electricity generated from renewable sources.

This is Good Energy – more about them later.

Most electricity suppliers have only a small percentage of renewable energy in their mix. However they may advertise a 100% green tariff. Often this means that the company will match every £1 you spend by investing £1 in renewables or they may buy CO2 offsets in developing countries. But of course we know that these companies have to invest in renewables under the renewable obligation. Even if you stuck to a “brown tariff” the company would in all likelihood still be investing in renewables or buying ROC’s.

Fiendish it is…!

If you would like to look at what’s on offer and the mix take a look at the following weblinks:

http://green.energyhelpline.com/energy

http://www.greenelectricity.org/domestic.html

http://www.uswitch.com/Energy/Green-Energy.html?i=1

So who do PCAN recommend?

You’ve no doubt guessed (from the banner on our website) that we recommend Good Energy. There are two reasons for this:

Firstly…and foremostly

It is currently the only supplier which only sources electricity generated from renewable sources. So your money only pays for green electricity to enter the grid. It also scores highest in the Ethical Consumer magazine guide http://www.ethiscore.org/

Now before you ask…no you won’t get the actual electricity generated by a wind turbine in Cornwall (for instance). That’s because we have a national grid and until electricity is generated in Portsmouth from renewable resources and connected to you directly (one day we hope) that isn’t possible. But it’s as close as you can get – and importantly you won’t be allowing any brown electricity into the grid through your purchase.

Good Energy “retires” a proportion of the ROC’s that it earns each year. This means that it takes ROC’s out of the market which helps to keep up the market price. In theory this should incentivise more renewable energy production.

Taking our £250 electricty bill in Portsmouth example you would pay about 13% more with Good Energy i.e. about £32 more per annum. That’s about 62 pence per week.

Secondly…and conveniently

There’s something in it for us. Good Energy will donate to PCAN a one-off £20 each time a domestic consumer signs up via our website (and a bit more for business’s). So taking that £32 example above some £20 of the first year’s extra spend would help PCAN continue to raise awareness about climate change. We think that’s pretty fair and if you signed up without going through us we’d still thank you for helping to combat climate change (although it would be a bit daft because you’d still pay the same price for the tariff).

Want to find out more about Good Energy ? Click on the banner anywhere on our site.

If you sign up and want to shout about it then even better (although it’s by no means compulsory). We can help you write to your old supplier, your MP and the Government telling them exactly why you have switched to reneawble energy. We can also help you with ideas for saving energy to try and cancel out the extra tariff cost. Click on our PCAN Energy Challenge page for more details.

Finally if you do sign up please give us feedback in time on the level of service that you receive.