Green Gas Support Scheme and Green Gas Levy

Levy on gas suppliers

The Green Gas Levy (GGL) places an obligation on all licensed fossil fuel gas suppliers in Great Britain to pay a quarterly levy which will be calculated based on the number of meter points they serve.

The levy rate is set annually by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the scheme year runs from 1 April to 31 March. The funds raised will be used to make payments to Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) participants for the amount of eligible biomethane they inject into the gas grid. The levy will also cover Ofgem’s administrative costs for running the scheme. 

What are the levy obligations?

The key GGL obligations that suppliers must meet are:

  • submission or verification of meter point data – this will be used to calculate levy payments and credit cover requirements
  • lodging credit cover – this will be drawn on if a supplier fails to meet a payment obligation by the deadline required
  • making quarterly levy payments

Should suppliers fail to make a payment, and if there is insufficient credit cover lodged, a mutualisation process may be triggered. This will require non defaulting suppliers to make an additional payment to make up the shortfall.

Key timeframes and actions

We have published the Green Gas Levy Annual Scheme Schedule 2023/24, which covers the period April 2023 to March 2024.

The annual scheme schedule sets out an administrative timetable for each year, and provides suppliers with advance notice of key dates including when:

  • Meter point data must be submitted by all suppliers
  • Notifications will be issued by Ofgem confirming credit cover requirements and the value of levy payments due
  • Levy payments must be paid by obligated suppliers
  • Notification must be provided by a supplier expecting to be provisionally exempt in the next scheme year

We may, if necessary, amend some of the dates within the scheme schedule after it has been published (those referred to as variable dates within the regulations), and if we do so, we must provide one month’s notice of any change.

The timelines have been set out in line with regulatory requirements and in consideration of the internal processes we must complete in order to administer the levy. The regulations specify that some of these timeframes must be set out for example to ensure we provide adequate notice of levy payments due (minimum 14 calendar days), and to ensure credit cover is in place before the start of the next quarter (must be in place 7 working days before the start of the next quarter). 

Green Gas Levy Guidance

Green Gas Levy Portal

You can view or complete obligations online on the GGL portal. More information is available on our ‘Apply or Log in’ page.

Find information and guidance on what you need to do by reading our our publications on the GGL.

The GGL portal became available for suppliers to submit their meter points for the first time on 7 February 2022. 

If you’re a new gas supplier and need to create an account, please email GGL.compliance@ofgem.gov.uk.

Non-compliance with the Green Gas Levy

If a licensed gas supplier fails to meet certain levy obligations by the deadline, we are required by the GGSS Regulations to publish certain information about such a default on the on the GGL default register. This includes information about:

  • the obligation that the supplier did not meet
  • where applicable, the date the outstanding sum was paid
  • any financial penalty imposed
  • any other information in relation to a scheme supplier’s compliance with the GGSS Regulations that Ofgem considers appropriate.

We will also report any non-compliance with the GGL on the Supplier Compliance Report (SPR). The SPR provides information on supplier non-compliance across the environmental, energy efficiency and social programme schemes we administer. We update the SPR every six months. 

Listing incidents of non-compliance on the default register and SPR does not mean that enforcement action will be taken in respect of them. If enforcement action is pursued there will be other related publications. 

More Information

We’ve published guidance for new, current and former licensed gas suppliers which sets out our administration of the GGL under the GGSS regulations 2021.

Ofgem's administration of the associated Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) is outlined in a separate guidance document.

See guidance and resources web page for all related publications.