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Licensed Electricity suppliers

This page is for licensed electricity suppliers and introduces obligations to the FIT scheme.

The Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) scheme requires some licensed electricity suppliers (called ‘FIT Licensees’) to pay fixed tariffs to FIT generators for the electricity their accredited installation generates and exports to the grid.

Licensed electricity suppliers with over 250,000 domestic customers in Great Britain are required to become FIT Licensees, and are called ‘Mandatory FIT Licensees’. Those with fewer customers are not required to become FIT Licensees but may choose to do so. These are called ‘Voluntary FIT Licensees’. For more information, see the ‘Becoming a FIT licensee’ section below. 

Regardless of their FIT status, all licensed electricity suppliers are required to participate in some aspects of the FIT scheme, including declaring their ‘FIT status’ annually and taking part in the periodic and annual levelisation processes.

The legal basis of the FIT scheme is laid out in:

Need help?

Further guidance on the role of licensed electricity suppliers on the FIT scheme can be found in the Feed-in Tariffs: Guidance for licensed electricity suppliers.

For any questions on licensed electricity suppliers’ ongoing duties to the scheme and how to become a FIT licensee, you can contact the FIT Compliance team on RECompliance@Ofgem.gov.uk.
 

Levelisation process

In a process called ‘periodic levelisation’, scheme costs are met every quarter by all licensed electricity suppliers based on their share of the electricity supply market of Great Britain (GB). Depending on how much a licensee has paid FIT generators for generation and export, they either pay money into or receive money from the levelisation fund. After the end of each FIT year, the ‘annual levelisation’ process reconciles the year’s periodic levelisations and ensures each FIT licensee has paid or received the right amount of money.

All active licensed electricity suppliers are required to participate in the levelisation process by: 

  • providing us with information to enable us to administer the process, and 
  • making levelisation payments as instructed by us. 

FIT status

Only FIT licensees can make payments to FIT generators. By 14 February of each year all Licensed Electricity Suppliers must notify Ofgem whether they will be a:

  • Mandatory FIT licensee, if they have at least 250,000 domestic customers on 31 December of the immediately preceding FIT year. These licensees are obligated to make FIT payments to FIT generators who register with them.
  • Voluntary FIT licensee, if they have less than 250,000 domestic electricity customers but choose to make FIT payments to FIT generators who register with them.
  • Non-FIT licensee for the FIT year starting on 1 April following the FIT notification by emailing notificationsubmission@ofgem.gov.uk.

The status will then apply for the duration of the approaching FIT year (1 April – 31 March).

FIT Licensee duties

FIT licensees have specific obligations under the Order and the SLCs. Their duties include:

  • Registering installations and making FIT payments
  • Ensuring that the information provided by the FIT generator is accurate
  • Updating the Central FIT Register (CFR) as required
  • Verifying meter readings provided by FIT generators.

FIT licensees should also have a complaints process in place to deal with any disputes that might arise with generators. 

Central FIT Register

The Central FIT Register (CFR) is a database of all accredited installations.
FIT licensees need to access the CFR to register installations, update details of FIT installations and make levelisation submissions.

Access to the Central Fit Register.

If you don’t understand a term being used, please see our glossary

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