Energy bills: ‘I got a green deal, so why am I paying eye-watering sums?’

theguardian.com:

Households on green energy tariffs who assumed they would be unaffected by soaring gas prices have been shocked to be told their electricity bills are rising, despite them being signed up to a renewable supply.

Suzanne Taylor has been told that her fixed daytime tariff with the renewable energy supplier So will double from 16p to 32p a unit if she renews it this month. “So is blaming the current energy crisis,” she says. “Its website says that 100% of its electricity is supplied from renewable sources so why would it be affected by gas prices?”

More than half of new energy tariffs are now marketed as “green” and 9 million customers have switched to deals that promise supplies from renewable sources.

However, many are unaware that because providers rely on the National Grid to distribute electricity, they can’t control its source. Energy is pooled in the grid, and when demand outstrips the availability of renewables, the grid tops up the supply with gas.

On average only about a third of the electricity from the grid is from renewable sources, while more than a third is powered by natural gas. The rest comes from other sources, such as nuclear.

Companies offering green tariffs typically invest the revenue in renewable energy sources, covering the equivalent of the kilowatt hours consumed by their customers.

However, these prices are also affected by the cost of gas because providers of renewables raise or lower their charges in line with the wider energy market in which the fossil fuel remains a key driver.

So Energy, which specialises in offering renewable tariffs, tells Guardian Money that its electricity prices are dictated by the cost of gas, but that it has advance purchase agreements with a range of renewable power plants