Where does Opus Energy’s energy come from?

Generators up and down the country generate electricity, which is distributed across the energy network, powering homes and businesses. Once in the network, it’s hard to tell where it originated - much like a bag of coffee beans from one country may contain beans from many different farmers.

To help customers understand their energy, the industry regulator Ofgem has made it a mandatory condition that energy suppliers declare where their electricity comes from. This is called the Fuel Mix Disclosure and it is announced on 1st October each year.

Fuel Mix Disclosures allow energy customers to see which energy sources contribute to the electricity they pay for. This helps provide clarity for customers who want to know how much of a given energy source - such as coal, wind, or solar - their energy supplier procures.

Where does our electricity come from?

From small-scale wind turbines to large arrays of solar panels and a handful of hydroelectric, we work with generators of all sizes to help bring cleaner energy to our customers.

For the latest reporting, covering 1st April 2019-31st March 2020, Opus Energy announced that 100% of the electricity we supplied to our customers came from renewable sources.

Generators are provided with a government certificate as evidence that they’ve produced renewable energy. These certificates have different names; European certificates are known as Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs), though REGOs are known as Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) in the UK.

We work with over 2,300 independent renewable generators, helping them to get their clean energy to market, and these certificates are passed to us as proof that the power we’ve supplied to our customers comes from a sustainable, renewable source.

This year, we promised that we’d provide our customers 100% renewable electricity as standard. This means that all our new and renewing customers will receive 100% renewable electricity, backed by these certificates and independently verified by an independent third party, EcoAct.

Before we became 100% renewable as standard, we had a great record. We supplied, on average, over 90% renewable energy to our customers in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. And as part of Drax, the UK’s largest provider of renewable electricity, we’re committed to ensuring a lower cost, zero carbon energy future.

Where does our gas come from?

Currently, there is no obligation for energy suppliers to disclose the sources of gas. This is because almost all gas supplied across the UK is natural gas. Natural gas is considered a fossil fuel, but is considerably cleaner than coal, estimated to be around 50-60% less carbon intensive.

The gas we supply to our customers is natural gas. This is, broadly speaking, the case for all energy suppliers in the UK. “Green” gas does exist - biomethane, sometimes called biogas, is considered renewable but is not widely available. It’s mixed with natural gas in small quantities to make natural gas more environmentally friendly. According to BEIS, just 0.4% of the gas supplied in the UK in 2018 was biomethane.

Producers of biomethane are accredited through the Green Gas Certification Scheme (GGCS), and receive a Renewable Gas Guarantee of Origin (RGGO). Energy suppliers who work with biomethane producers receive these certificates and can offset them against a customers’ gas consumption.

Additionally, some energy suppliers offer carbon offsetting. Carbon offset certificates offset a volume of carbon emissions associated with gas consumption.

We don’t currently offer an official customer product for either of the above options. However, there’s been some demand from our customers for such an offering, and we hope to be able to offer something in the near future, to help contribute to a cleaner gas infrastructure.