Millions of UK households in the dark about clean energy
Millions1 of UK energy customers paying for renewable tariffs say they feel misled by their providers, as almost two-fifths (39%) of Brits admit they were not aware being on a renewable energy tariff does not always mean renewable energy is being generated to match their use.
Those opting for renewable tariffs want their energy choices to support cleaner power. But current regulation allows suppliers to claim their tariffs are ‘100% renewable’ – even when they purchase substantial amounts of electricity generated from fossil fuels.
Because suppliers report their fuel mix annually, they can buy Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certificates when renewable generation is plentiful and count them against electricity supplied months later, when fossil fuels are making up much more of the energy mix. This makes it challenging for customers to understand how the electricity they use is really generated.
In fact, of those polled who were on renewable tariffs, 81% reveal they feel ‘misled’ knowing providers can use these certificates to claim their energy tariffs as ‘renewable’.
Good Energy, ranked no.1 for British-made renewable electricity2, is calling for half-hourly matching data to become standard across the energy industry – to bring much greater transparency on how energy companies make renewable energy claims.
The research, conducted with Censuswide, shows the scale to which UK consumers feel misled by energy suppliers. It also shows:
Almost one-third (32%) of UK consumers are currently on a renewable energy tariff.
Young people show a greater interest in renewable power than their older peers, as 44% of those who said they were on renewable tariffs were aged 18-24, while just 26% were aged 45+.
Almost one-fifth (18%) admit that knowing that renewable tariff claims can be made using offsetting methods they would actually be less likely to switch to a renewable energy tariff.
Fran Woodward, Managing Director of Supply at Good Energy, said: “For too long, energy companies have been allowed to make vague claims around their use of ‘renewable’ energy tariffs. In an era of widespread misinformation, it is more crucial than ever that UK customers get the truth about what they are paying for.”
As a comparison, when asked their views on other scenarios, the research shows over half of Brits would find it unacceptable for a plant-based sausage roll to contain meat (57%), a diamond ring to be made up of plastic (59%), or an alcohol-free beer to contain alcohol (59%).
Fran continued: “If you bought a diamond ring, you’d expect it to be made with diamonds, not plastic. If you bought a plant-based sausage roll, you wouldn’t accept it containing meat. So, we don’t think anyone should have to accept this from their energy company either.
“Millions of well-meaning households are choosing renewable energy tariffs – but using the label ‘renewable’ doesn’t mean that renewable electricity is actually being generated to match demand. This is unacceptable and must change.
“At Good Energy, we’ve long believed that consumers deserve greater transparency about where their electricity comes from. That’s why we believe regulations should make suppliers provide transparent, half-hourly matching data – rather than relying on annual balancing, which can mask huge differences between their claims and the reality.”
Half-hourly matching is the most transparent way to show how much renewable energy suppliers generate for every half-hour of consumer usage. Good Energy tops the list The Matched Clean Power Index – an independent, third-party ranking which tracks the UK market using publicly available data – 20 percentage points ahead of the next domestic energy supplier.
Good Energy is now inviting UK consumers to check their own provider’s renewable claims with the launch of a new ‘Renewable Reality Check’ calculator. To use the calculator and find out how closely your energy supplier is generating renewable power to match demand, visit: www.goodenergy.co.uk/renewable-reality-check .
Research Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2001 UK Respondents (Nat Rep 18+). The data was collected between 23.10.2026 – 26.10.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles