UK Suppliers call time on energy ‘greenwashing’

Renewable electricity tariffs are growing in popularity as consumers strive to cut their carbon footprint and play their part in saving the planet, say the two supply companies. However, some commentators have started to question whether these tariffs are as green as consumers might expect.

Green energy produced in the UK or Europe comes with a certificate that authenticates the energy as renewable. However, these can be separated from their sources, and sold on their own, without connection to the renewable energy source or investment into green energy, says Baringa. This means that the current rules around what can be described as a green tariff are extremely lax. As a result, some suppliers mislead customers by selling tariffs called ‘certificate-only’ deals – buying cheap certificates to greenwash power from non-renewable sources. 

Renewable electricity tariffs based on long-term power purchase agreements between the supplier and generators do provide support to generators in financing their investments in deploying renewables, say the two suppliers. On the other hand, tariffs based merely on traded UK renewables certificates provide minimal benefit to renewables generators. Even worse, tariffs based on certificates purchased from outside the UK provide no benefit.

Juliet Davenport, CEO and Founder of Good Energy, said: ‘Our new report shows the energy market is in drastic need of reform. Millions of customers are being misled by tariffs which do little to support green power, or tackle climate change. The answer is simple: any supplier which is selling green power should be buying green power for their customers.’