How do I choose a green or renewable tariff from an energy company

Submitted by: Jonathan Fitter, February 23, 2022

If you are with a large energy supplier and wish to stay with them, you can ask to be moved from a standard tariff to a green/renewable tariff. British Gas, SSE, EDF, E.on, and Scottish Power all have the option of a green/renewable tariff. 

There are smaller energy suppliers also. Such as Ecotricity, Octopus Energy, First Utility/Shell Energy, Good Energy and Utility Warehouse. They are all good companies, which run mostly or totally on green/renewable energy. There is not much difference between them. If an energy company goes bankrupt, your energy is not cut off, you are just transferred to another company. You don't need to do a thing. 

The money you pay for your energy bill on a green/renewable tariff will contribute towards that company investing in green/renewable energy production. This would mostly be wind power, solar power and hydro electric power. Doing so sends a message to the companies that people want to move away from burning 'climate changing' fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. 

The more people who do this, the clearer the message gets sent to the government. This can influence where it decides to invest in energy production, and which ones to subsidise. Goodenergy.co.uk have a good article on what to look for when selecting a real green tariff: https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/media/18782/the-problem-of-greenwashing-october-2020.pdf At the time of going online (February 2022), all of the above companies are still trading.