MILLIONS of customers of a “green” plan are set to claim back up to a decade’s worth of premiums paid on energy bills after forking out extra despite already paying for green energy via taxes.
A study of 2,000 adults revealed 83 per cent of all “green” tariff customers don’t fully understand what they are paying for.
2
2
The customers aren’t aware they are already paying for green energy via taxes already baked into their energy bills.
And while more than half of those on a tariff advertised as “green” believe the energy they receive is 100 per cent renewable, 55 per cent still have no idea where or how it is generated.
A third of those on a green tariff say they chose it to offset their guilt about the way they use energy.
However, 61 per cent say if they were to discover their energy company had misled them with regards to their green claims, they would take action.
Archie Lasseter, Sustainability Lead for energy company Utilita – which commissioned the report – said: “The results of this survey show us that customers care deeply about their environmental impact and want to make a difference.
“Allowing regulation that results in customers being misled cannot prevail. The loopholes which have led to greenwashing must be closed, urgently.
“Government policy has completely overlooked the first step in tackling climate change – reducing energy waste, which is what our Smart Score technology enables homes to do
“We have proven that, on average, households can reduce their energy wastage by up to 20 per cent if they are given the intel to do so – right now, most of our customers are using around 11 percent less than the average household.”
Over a quarter of energy customers on a green tariff claim to be paying a premium compared to the cost of a standard tariff (26 per cent), with the average premium being around 12 per cent.
That’s approximately £144 per year more, based on the UK’s average £1,200 energy bill.
The study conducted via OnePoll also revealed long-standing customer loyalty may finally come under strain, as most (74 per cent) energy customers on a green tariff said they would leave their current energy company if inaccurate claims about the energy supplied to them had been made.
Consumer law expert Matthew Unsworth has a special interest in consumer rights associated with greenwashing, and he added: “There is no specific anti-greenwashing legislation in the UK.
“Having said this, many misleading environmental claims will fall foul of the restrictions contained in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
“In particular, instances of greenwashing are likely to contravene Regulation 5, which prohibits false and misleading commercial practices, or Regulation 6, which prohibits commercial practices serving to hide or obfuscate material information.
“It is worth bearing in mind that a deceptive eco-claim will only constitute an offence under either regulation if it causes or is likely to cause consumers to enter into a transaction when they would not otherwise have done so.”
Ofgem Chief Exec Jonathan Brearley admits biggest rise in energy price cap ‘is going to be difficult for many families’
