Launches new REGO service for Feed-in-Tariff generators

Good Energy Group PLC (AIM: GOOD), the 100% renewable electricity supplier and energy services provider, is pleased to announce that it is building on its support for small scale solar generators by launching a brand new service to Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) generators to register them for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs).

The service will enable FIT microgenerators to be recognised as producing renewable electricity for the first time since the inception of the scheme in 2010. Good Energy will pay opted-in FIT customers for their REGOs, boosting their earning potential by up to 9%*.

REGOs are issued by Ofgem to certify that electricity has been produced by a renewable source. However the process of applying for and managing REGOs is complex and can be time consuming, making it unsuitable for FIT generators who are frequently not energy experts. Good Energy has worked with Ofgem to design a new FIT REGO Boost service which streamlines the registration process for FIT generators.

FIT REGO Boost, open to participants of the FIT scheme which closed to new entrants in 2019, is the latest development in Good Energy’s offering to microgenerators. The Company has over 180,000 FiT customers, making it the largest voluntary administrator of the scheme. Good Energy continues to innovate in its support for FIT customers, including having switched more than 55,000 FIT customers to smart export. Smart export increases FIT generators’ earning potential to match what they actually share with the grid, rather than the deemed 50% originally set under the scheme. Good Energy’s analysis has shown that on average, FIT generators share 60% of what they generate back to the grid.

Together with smart export, FIT REGO Boost paves the way for Good Energy to match the power its generator customers share to the grid with the customers it provides energy to in future – a major innovation in decentralised energy.

Nigel Pocklington, CEO of Good Energy said:

“Microgeneration has been historically undervalued in our energy system. Not only has the power small scale solar generators share back to the grid been underestimated, but schemes which are available to bigger generators, like REGOs, have not been available to them.

“On an individual level, this service will help our FIT microgenerators be rewarded fairly and be recognised for the contribution they are making to the production of renewable energy. And on a macro-level it will help to better assess the contribution of microgenerators, make solar generation as attractive as possible and drive more people to produce their own clean energy. Small scale, decentralised clean power is essential to achieving net zero, and Good Energy is committed to making sure that these microgenerators are rewarded fairly for the vital part they are playing.”

Good Energy has been a longstanding critic of the use of REGO certificates by energy suppliers to greenwash fossil fuel power purchased via the wholesale market, misleading consumers. It is this particular misuse of REGOs to certify electricity not purchased from a renewable source that it is critical of, rather than REGOs themselves.

Kit Dixon, head of policy, Good Energy said: “While the REGO system is imperfect, it is how generators are certified to be producing renewable electricity and as such small scale FIT generators have every right to access to it.

“Change is needed to bring greater transparency and innovation to the market, ensuring that consumers know that their supplier is genuinely working to decarbonise electricity use. A small part of this is ensuring that all renewable generators can access the support to which they are entitled, no matter their size. This is what our FIT REGO Boost service helps deliver.”

CEO Nigel Pocklington provides an overview of the period in the video below: