Energy users advised to take advantage of Feed-in Tariff before payment rates are cut

25 October 2011: Good Energy, the UK’s only 100% renewable electricity supplier, is marking Microgeneration Day by urging more people to join the UK’s fast-growing community of small green energy generators. Thousands are already taking control of their energy supply through the government’s Feed-in Tariff scheme, insulating themselves against price hikes and rising fuel poverty. However, the government is due to publish its Feed-in Tariff Comprehensive Review Consultation shortly, and is likely to reduce the payments for renewable electricity from 1 April 2012.

Microgeneration Day is part of the UK’s Energy Saving Week (24-28 October), which is organised each year by the Energy Saving Trust. This year’s goal is to show consumers how they can can reduce their spiralling energy bills.

Good Energy today publishes its snapshot of renewable electricity microgeneration in the UK, which demonstrates the huge success of the Feed-in Tariff and how the UK’s community of small energy generators is growing and evolving. The Good Energy FIT Report findings include:

• Renewable electricity generation is no longer limited to affluent regions but has become widespread; hotspots include Reading, Stockport and Exeter
• Feed-in Tariff installations have risen rapidly in the social housing sector
• Microgenerators have changed the way they use energy and have reduced their consumption

Juliet Davenport, Good Energy’s founder and CEO says: “The Feed-in Tariff has made investing in solar PV attainable to a wide range of people. Many of our customers are getting a return of close to £1,000 a year, on top of an average yearly saving of around £150 on their electricity bill. Households and small businesses in all areas of the country and of all shapes and sizes have been enjoying the benefits, and we urge more to sign up to the Feed-in Tariff to get the best rates before April 2012.”

Good Energy believes that strong uptake of the Feed-in Tariff to date represents a welcome shift towards a stable UK energy market that reduces its reliance on imported energy. Juliet Davenport concludes: “We believe that energy in the UK can be 100% renewable by 2050. There’s a role for all of us in achieving that. Communities that are taking control of their energy needs deserve our full support. They deserve the government’s support. We need to follow in their footsteps if we are to change our energy future for the better.”

-ENDS-

Download a copy of the Good Energy FIT report