Can you still get a `green' fuel deal?

THE GREENEST DEALS

Some tariffs include electricity from 100 per cent renewable sources, and some offset the carbon dioxide emissions from the gas you use.

Confusingly though, when you buy a 100 per cent renewable package, it doesn't guarantee that the company will produce any additional renewable energy. It could simply mean that someone else, on a standard tariff, gets a bit less renewable energy.

Companies that confirm they do not divert renewable energy from other tariffs include Good Energy and Utilita.

Ecotricity's energy is not all renewable, but, for every £1 spent by customers, the company has invested at least £1 in building new wind turbines.

These `darker green' products are among the most expensive, so there is a trade-off between how much you want to spend on fuel and how green you want to be.

GOVERNMENT ACTION

In March 2007, providers only sourced around five per cent of electricity from renewables. The government wants this figure to increase to 20 per cent by 2020. Energy regulator Ofgem is devising a voluntary scheme showing the fuel mix and carbon footprint of fuel tariffs. It hopes to launch it later this year.

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