Ofgem E-Serve saves £360,000 using new tool to correct claims errors for 8,000 ROCs
Press release
Ofgem E-Serve has saved almost £360,000 in the last 12 months by spotting over-claims for more than 8,000 Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs).
Ofgem E-Serve uses industry data from the Data Transfer Service (DTS), Elexon and SEMO to check accredited generating stations’ export volumes against their monthly claims for ROCs under the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme.
This data validation represents a new and powerful tool in a system of data checks, site audits and counter fraud work carried out by Ofgem E-Serve, allowing faster processing and identification of errors. It forms part of an operational excellence initiative to improve on Ofgem E-Serve’s already successful administration of the RO scheme.
The RO is one of the main support mechanisms for renewable electricity projects in the UK and is administered by Ofgem E-Serve in Great Britain on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Dr Ed Nelson, Renewable Generation Manager, Ofgem E-Serve, said: “With more than 28GW of capacity now accredited and operational under the RO scheme, we can issue in excess of £400 million worth of ROCs to operators in a single month.
“By comparing site export data with the monthly output submission for a station we’re able to validate monthly ROC claims of thousands of stations instantaneously.
“This ensures ROCs are issued in a timely manner based on accurate and reliable data. For a publically-funded scheme, this efficiency improvement saves money by spotting errors and instances of non-compliance early, and ultimately benefits energy consumers.”
The RO scheme requires energy suppliers to source a percentage of the electricity they supply to customers from renewable generation.
Each month generators participating in the RO must submit their output volumes to Ofgem E-Serve in order to receive ROCs which can then be traded with energy suppliers as proof of meeting their obligation.
In 2014/15, over 71 million ROCs were issued with the cost of certificates ultimately passed on to consumers.
In the past 12 months, Ofgem E-Serve has corrected 30,988 ROCs with a value of more than £1.3 million, with errors arising from over and under-claims.
About Ofgem E-Serve
Ofgem E-Serve delivers green energy and social schemes on behalf of government. Our expertise lies in designing, setting up and delivering large scale programmes in the sustainable energy sector. These programmes are in fields as diverse as renewable heat, renewable electricity, energy efficiency and fuel poverty. We’ve established an impressive track record since 2009, administering schemes worth more than £6 billion a year for less than 0.5 per cent of their total value.
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