Best and worst energy suppliers for sustainability revealed
Octopus Energy, Ecotricity and Good Energy top the latest Which? annual rankings of energy firm green credentials. They all earned the Which? Eco Provider endorsement and scored full marks for buying and selling renewable power and their greenhouse gas emissions.
The consumer champion’s analysis involved asking providers a series of questions about sustainability practices: their answers were assessed with a points-based scoring system. Which? gave points for supplying green gas, offering time-of-use products and above-average rates for solar export.
Ecotricity and Good Energy have been named Eco Providers for four years in a row while Octopus Energy made the list for the second year running. Octopus, which scored 90 per cent, generates renewable power from solar, onshore and offshore wind and also buys it directly from generators. It has a choice of flexible tariffs as well as one of the more generous rates for solar export.
Ecotricity, which scored 85 per cent, generates electricity from wind and solar power and invests profits into building more renewable generation. It has built 24 wind parks (74 turbines) since 1995 and recently completed two new solar parks. Ecotricity is one of only four firms that sells green gas (biomethane).
Good Energy also scored 85 per cent. It buys enough electricity from renewable generators to cover all its customers’ usage, matching more than 90 per cent of it on a half-hourly basis. The company buys much of its electricity from small-scale generators that do not receive government subsidies, meaning it supports generators that might not exist otherwise. Of the gas it sells, 10 per cent is green and its solar export rates are among the more generous.
Emily Seymour, Which? Energy editor, says: “Which? research shows some energy firms are doing much more than others when it comes to sustainability, with the top-ranked providers leading the way in areas like generating renewable power and helping customers cut their greenhouse gas emissions.”
