Missold Electricity

Marthamayhem

We were on a Green Tariff where we paid extra to support renewable energy on the basis our electricity was from a renewable source. Were we missold? Was this just marketing green wash crap? Was anyone on one of these when that company went bust because of wholesale prices went up? Surely renewable sources as sold are not subject to these massive hikes which are linked to gas prices. If my tariff said it was from renewable then why was that part of the business not ring fenced from those influenced by fossil fuels? Any I missing something surely if they say take a green tariff it costs slightly more because of that to suddenly find yourself severely affected by fossil fuel influence something has gone wrong. Granted there isn’t enough green energy sources but if you paid slightly more for it why were those parts of the business not ring fenced from contaminate from fossil fuels volatility influence. 

p00hsticks

Just my opinion, but it;s all marketing hogwash. Your power comes from the National Grid. They're not going to send electricity generated from wind/solar/hydroelectric down the line to you just because you signed up to some deal with a supplier and that from the gas fired generators to your neighbour because they haven't, in the same way that Coldplay can't claim to be 'carbon neutral' whilst flying round in private jets just because they pay to have a few trees planted.  

[Deleted User]

The price of electricity is based on marginal costing. Explained here:

https://www.edfenergy.com/large-business/talk-power/newsletter/wholesale-energy-costs-made-simple

Many suppliers are now claiming that all their energy is produced from renewable sources when it fact they are using REGOs. Explained here:

https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/not-all-green-tariffs-are-created-equal/

In truth, as suggested above, power grids are a mix of fuels. If you pay for 4000kWh of electricity then your supplier will pay its wholesaler to push 4000kWh of electricity into the Grid. This could be via the inter connector from Norway and you might live 00s of miles away. 

Our present electricity mix at the moment (in strong sunshine and a medium breeze):

PaulMal

I had similar concerns as I am on a '100% renewables' tariff. When I asked my supplier about this they responded that:

'There aren’t separate markets for green and non-green energy sources. 
 
Once renewable electricity enters the grid, it carries the same wholesale cost as non-green electricity. 
 
That means that when electricity produced by burning fossil fuels becomes more expensive, renewable electricity does too.'

When I then asked if the product had been mis-sold they simply copied their first response again. 

I'll be taking advice on whether there is a valid claim here.