By Paul Homewood
One of our readers, Knut Aabakken, who lives in Essex sent me this email:
Hi Paul
I registered my interest for the Big Community Switch and got an offer where they claimed that the electricity was 100% renewable.
“The auction was won by So Energy and the tariff comes with 100% renewable electricity.”
I questioned this and got the following response:
“Thank you for contacting us. I appreciate your query about So Energy offering 100% renewable energy. Through the Big Community Switch all participating supplier in the auction must bid with 100% renewable energy plan.
Electricity generated from all sources is sent to the grid together. This means that all grid users are serviced by a mix of electricity, including renewable energy. When you choose a 100% renewable plan, the supplier has made a commitment to supplement the grid with enough renewable energy to cover your consumption. However, your home will still be serviced by the mix.
So Energy are the only supplier of renewable electricity that gives customers the chance to vote on how they source it. Hydro, Solar, Wind or Biomass: you can cast your vote and they will use the results to source next year’s energy for your home. You can find out more here.
Personal Offers are being sent out at the moment. You have until July 31st to accept your offer.
I trust to have provided you with enough information. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance and I will be very happy to help.
If you have any additional questions, please also feel free to take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.
Kind Regards,
Erna”
As far as I can see, this is pretty close to fraud. Asking for suppliers to only offer 100% renewable electricity is pretty stupid and by the way, the offer is for dual supply, electricity and gas. Where to they get the “renewable” gas from?
Knut
..
We have of course been down this road before. At least they admit that the electricity which comes into your house comes from exactly the same sources as your neighbour’s!
But what guarantee is there that your supplier has made a commitment to supplement the grid with enough renewable energy to cover your consumption?
This is what SO Energy say:
REGOs!
However these offer no such guarantee at all, as the switching site, Simply Switch explain:
https://www.simplyswitch.com/energy/guides/renewable-energy-guarantees-origin-rego-scheme-explained/
In short, REGOs are simply bits of meaningless paper.
Renewable generators often are not required to supply REGOs to their customers, which in many cases are their parent or sister companies, as they may have no need for them. So the renewable generators simply cash in by flogging them to the likes of SO Energy.
Still, at least it makes the green virtue signallers who fall for this con feel better!
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