Get Better Electricity
You can do this action once and save 2000kg of CO2 per year.
Calculation Method
Green Thing has used the figure provided by Good energy which supplies 100% renewable energy to its customers
Which Resusable Energy Supplier?
Energywatch
explains what to consider when comparing tariffs such as what percentage of the energy supplied is backed by a Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificates.
They suggest that you compare the cost of the tariffs available from accredited electricity comparison sites
"UK consumers are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about environmental and ethical issues. Consumers are now spending over £29 billion each year on ethical goods, such as organic or fair-trade food, environmentally friendly transport, ethical clothing, and ethical banking. However, only 0.2 per cent of this spend is on green energy, and only one per cent of energy consumers in Great Britain are signed up to a green or carbon offset tariff."
There is also a good table on what fuel mix the companies use. - Good Energy is the only one which uses 100% renewable energy
Gooshing also gives a good explanation on why to change and which one to change to. Since April 1st 2004 all energy suppliers have had to make sure that at least 4.9% of the energy that they supply comes from renewable energy sources.
Gooshing gives its own suggestion for green tariffs and takes a look at FoE research done 2002, which (according to gooshing) remains the most in depth research into green tariffs. Good energy has come top of FoE's league table three years in a row. Unfortunately when you check out the FoE website, they tell you that they no longer produce a green tariff table due to lack or resources!
The Nag provides a link to the Green Electricity Marketplace (run by a man appropriately called John Green) a good site where you can enter your energy consumption and postcode and it will find all the green tariffs available in your area and they also give you a useful explanation of what the tariff's green credentials actually are.
Once again good energy comes up tops: "This is the most environmentally sound electricity supply available in the UK"
The downside of Good energy is that is appears more expensive that other green tariffs, I suppose that for those that can't afford the extra expense - just signing up to any recognised green tariff scheme will signal the increased demand for renewable energy, which can't be a bad thing!
Energywatch seems to provide the most detailed and clear info on the green tariffs, until the ofgem report comes out. While FoE suggests that you look at the same site which The Nag links to: the Green Electricity Marketplace.
Big Green Switch has teamed up with Simply Switch to provide an easy way to review to the green tariffs provided by mainstream suppliers and see how they compare price wise with your current supplier.
