Looking for electricity that doesn’t cost the earth?
Good Energy came out top in an Ethical Consumer report, with Green Energy, Utilita and Ecotricity close behind.
It’s above my pay grade to try to understand the workings of the electricity supply system (learned explanations are most welcome in the comments below) – there aren’t any wires coming directly from a wind farm to addresses in Birmingham, or anywhere else in the UK as far as I know. So in our fragmented system, some billing companies (the ones you and I deal with) have sought various ways to make a real impact on the market for renewable energy – or to give that impression! Not every product labelled “green electricity” is necessarily going to reduce carbon emissions.
Fortunately, greater minds than mine have delved into this issue and made recommendations to the rest of us, such as this article at www.ethicalconsumer.org. But it relates to October 2008, so if anyone has more up-to-date sources of information, please add a comment.
Good Energy (01249 766090) comes out top, just ahead of Green Energy, Utilita and Ecotricity – although you’ll see from the article that it matters exactly which tariff you sign up to in each case, though thankfully Good Energy only has one. (No, this isn’t an affiliate link – I must ask them about that.) As it happens, I’m a Good Energy customer at home. Being a small company, their customer services department is very friendly – though I’ve asked them to review their procedures about dealing with complex issues.
I don’t think there is any such thing as zero carbon electricity, so signing up to a green tariff is no substitute for throwing the stuff away through a poorly insulated loft, for example. You might get work like that done for free if you’re on a low income – try phoning Warmfront on 0800 316 2805.
What energy tariff are you signed up to at home? Why did you choose that one? Would you consider switching?
Chris Duggan
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Chris Duggan said:
http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/West-Midlands/Birmingham/B14/News/Reviews-and-Features/149807-Why-and-how-this-website-uses-zero-carbon-electricity.
- a strong recommendation for Good Energy
“In checking the alternatives we found that some large suppliers, with cleverly worded marketing campaigns, created green tariffs simply by re-allocating existing supplies towards their more environmentally-aware consumers. That meant the rest of their customers – probably the majority – would be getting dirtier electricity as a result. Sure, some of the big names have the resources to create headlines around investment in offshore wind farms. But they continue to invest in coal-fired power stations too.”
The article gives a reference number for B13 and B14 dwellers to cite if they sign up with Good Energy.