Green energy tariffs:
what green really costs

Every supplier says they're green. This page shows you what genuinely green energy means, what it usually costs against the price cap, and how to switch to it without being greenwashed.

£1,723Typical bill under the October cap

26.32pCapped electricity unit rate per kWh

0%VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026

Figures from the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Checked 25 September 2026.

Is green energy more expensive?

Usually a little, but less than most people think, and sometimes not at all. Under the price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026, a typical dual fuel household pays £1,723 a year. Genuinely green tariffs are often priced near the cap, so what usually happens is you pay a modest premium, or simply the capped rate, for electricity matched by real renewable generation. The bigger price gap is usually between people who switch and people who don't, not between green and standard tariffs.

Some links on this page are partner links. We are paid when we introduce you to a partner. It doesn't change the price you pay, and it never changes our verdicts.

The honest version

Not all "100% renewable" tariffs are the same

The electricity coming into your home is the same wherever you live: everyone draws from the same national grid. What a green tariff changes is what your money does. And there are two very different versions of "green" being sold in the UK.

Certificate green. Suppliers can buy renewable certificates (called REGOs) separately from the electricity itself, at low cost, and then market a tariff as 100% renewable. The certificates are real, but a tariff can be badged green this way without the supplier buying renewable power directly or building anything new.

Generation green. A smaller group of suppliers generate renewable power themselves or buy it directly from wind and solar farms, and some put their profits into building new generation. With these suppliers, your bill money is directly connected to renewable energy existing.

Neither is a scam, but they are not the same product. If the reason you want a green tariff is to make more renewable energy happen, the second kind is the one that does it. When you compare green tariffs, the question to ask is simple: where does this supplier's power actually come from, and what do they do with the profit?

The numbers

What you're comparing against: the October cap

Any green tariff quote only means something next to the price cap, because the cap is what you pay by default on a standard variable tariff. These are the capped rates for 1 October to 31 December 2026 for a typical household paying by direct debit.

Ofgem cap, 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026	Rate
Typical annual dual fuel bill	£1,723 (up £60 on the summer cap)
Electricity unit rate	26.32p per kWh
Electricity standing charge	54.83p per day
Gas unit rate	7.97p per kWh
Gas standing charge	29.68p per day

Two things changed this quarter worth knowing. VAT came off domestic electricity entirely from 1 October 2026, which Ofgem says kept the typical bill around £45 lower than it would have been. And because that VAT cut applies to electricity only, this rise landed almost entirely on gas. That quietly improves the maths for green tariffs: green suppliers are electricity-led, and electricity just got structurally cheaper relative to gas. If you've been waiting for the moment green stopped carrying a meaningful premium, the market is moving in that direction.

A quote above these rates is the green premium, and it's yours to judge. What can happen with the greenest suppliers is that you pay a few pounds a month more than the cap, and that difference is the price of your bill funding new wind and solar rather than a certificate.

Switch to it

Genuinely green, from our partners

Ecotricity

Generation green: they build it, your bill funds it

Britain's original green supplier, founded 1996, 100% renewable electricity since 2013

Generates its own power from wind and sun parks it built

Profits reinvested into building new renewable generation

Get an Ecotricity quote

Ecotalk mobile

The same idea for your phone: SIM money into nature

Ecotricity's mobile brand, on the EE network

Your SIM money buys land back for nature

Pairs with a green energy switch for a fully green set of bills

See Ecotalk SIM plans

Co-op Energy, our other energy partner, also runs on renewable electricity, and you can compare more options through our energy partner network.

The verdict

Is a green tariff worth it for you?

If you're overpaying now, switch first, choose green while you're at it. The most expensive tariff in Britain is the one nobody chose. If you've drifted onto a standard variable tariff, a switch usually saves money whether or not it's green, so there's rarely a reason not to pick the green option while you're moving.

If you want your bill to build things, pick a generation-green supplier and treat any small premium as what it is: the most effortless climate spending you'll ever do, working every hour of every day without you thinking about it.

If budget is everything right now, that's fine too. Switch to the cheapest deal you can find, note your contract end date, and revisit green when the premium has narrowed further. The VAT change shows the direction of travel.

Green intentions, forgotten renewals

Tell us when your energy deal ends and we'll remind you before it does, with the best deals at that moment, green ones included.

Common questions

Green energy, answered

Is the electricity in my home actually green on a green tariff?

No, and no supplier can make it so. Everyone receives the same mixed electricity from the national grid. What a green tariff does is match your usage with renewable generation somewhere on that grid, or fund new generation. The physics is shared; the money trail is what you're choosing.

How much more does green energy cost?

It varies by supplier and quarter. Genuinely green tariffs are often priced near the price cap, which is £1,723 a year for a typical dual fuel household from 1 October 2026, so what usually happens is a modest premium or none at all. Get a live quote and compare it against the capped rates on this page; the difference you see is the real premium, not the mythical one.

What is a REGO and why does it matter?

A REGO (Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin) is a certificate proving one megawatt hour of renewable electricity was generated. Suppliers can buy these certificates separately from the power itself, cheaply, and use them to market a tariff as renewable. That's why two "100% renewable" tariffs can be very different underneath: one may be a certificate on top of ordinary wholesale power, the other real renewable generation. Asking where a supplier's power comes from cuts through it.

Is green gas a real thing?

Partly. A small amount of biomethane, made from things like food and farm waste, is injected into the gas grid, and some suppliers buy or produce it. But there isn't nearly enough to supply every home, so most "green gas" offers are a small biomethane share plus carbon offsetting. Genuinely green suppliers tend to be upfront about that split; it's a good honesty test when you're comparing.

Why did electricity get cheaper treatment than gas this October?

The government removed VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1 October 2026, which Ofgem says kept the typical capped bill around £45 lower than it would have been. Gas kept its VAT and took most of this quarter's wholesale rise. The side effect is that electricity-led green tariffs, and electric technologies like heat pumps and EVs, all got relatively cheaper against gas.

Keep reading

Green energy tariffs:what green really costs