Watchdog Sceptical on Suppliers' 'Green Tariff' Claims

British energy firms are not providing sufficient clarity on their "green tariff" projects, industry regulator Ofgem has indicated.

According to the body, the suppliers should be able to better demonstrate to customers who pay extra for the tariffs that the money is going towards funding projects such as renewable energy schemes, as is promised on promotional material. Ofgem also said that some firms have repackaged pre-existing government requirements to spend eight to ten per cent of money garnered from fuel bills on renewables and other "eco-friendly" technology, saying that this compulsory spending is for green tariffs.

The body has now issued new guidelines on the matter, which will see an independent green tariff body created by the end of the year to accredit the spending through simple "gold, silver and bronze" branding.

Ofgem chief executive, Alistair Buchanan, commented: "With our revised guidelines we intend to shine a light onto suppliers' green offerings to show the customer why a tariff is green. Suppliers must tackle customers' scepticism by providing much clearer information about their green tariffs to customers, so they can easily understand the extra environmental benefits the tariffs provide – our guidelines will help them to do that."

Around 350,000 Britons are currently paying green tariffs.