Renewables Obligation - total obligation levels for 2012-13

Guidance, Correspondence and other

Publication date

Scheme name

RO

Renewables obligation for 2012-13: 48,915,432 ROCs

We have today announced the total Renewables Obligation level (in Renewables Obligation Certificates, ROCs) for 2012-13. Please note that we are making this announcement later than in previous years because of additional checks we have made on supply data.

The Renewables Obligation requires electricity suppliers to source a proportion of the electricity they supply to UK customers from renewable sources. The obligation levels for 2012-13 are:

  • 15.8 ROCs per 100 MWh of electricity supplied to customers in England & Wales and Scotland
  • 8.1 ROCs per 100 MWh of electricity supplied to customers in Northern Ireland

Using these obligation levels and multiplying by the total electricity supplied (MWh) to UK customers during the obligation period, Ofgem has worked out that the total Renewables obligation for 2012-13 is 48,915,432 ROCs. Split down for each obligation this is:

  • 43,734,836 ROCs in England & Wales
  • 4,519,357 ROCs in Scotland
  • 661,239 ROCs in Northern Ireland

Licensed electricity suppliers must meet their ROC obligations for 2012-13 by 1 September 2013 (31 August for buy-out payments). They can do this by:

  • presenting Ofgem with ROCs to the full value of their obligation;
  • making a buy-out payment of £40.71 per ROC for any shortfall; or
  • using a combination of ROCs and buy-out payment.
Notes

1. Ofgem is responsible for administering the Renewables Obligation (RO), which started in April 2002 (April 2005 in Northern Ireland). The obligation is on electricity suppliers to source a proportion of their electricity from renewable generation. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) set the level of the obligation in accordance with provisions in the Renewables Obligation Orders1.

2. Each supplier’s obligation is calculated by multiplying their total annual supply to customers (MWh) by the level of the obligation (ROCs per MWh). Table (1) provides the obligation levels, buy-out price and total RO for the last three years.

Table (1)

Obligation period
(1st April - 31st
March)
 		 Buy-out price
 		 Obligation for
England & Wales
and Scotland (ROCs
per MWh of
electricity supplied)
 		 Obligation for
Northern Ireland
(ROCs per MWh of
electricity supplied)
 		 Total Obligation
level in ROCs
(England & Wales,
Scotland and
Northern Ireland
combined)
2010-2011 £36.99 0.111 0.0427 34,749,418
2011-2012 £38.69 0.124 0.055 37,677,290
2012-2013 £40.71 0.158 0.081 48,915,432
2013-2014 £42.02 0.206 0.097  

3. All licensed suppliers that have supplied electricity to their customers in the 2012-13 obligation period have now submitted their supply figures; the deadline for submitting these was 1 July 2013. From these we have calculated and confirmed each supplier’s obligation as described in (2). If a supplier fails to provide this information or later meet its obligation, either through not producing sufficient ROCs or not making the correct buy-out payments, it will be in breach of the Electricity Act 1989 and liable to enforcement action.

For press information contact:
Rory Edwards 020 7901 7246

Non-press enquiries contact:
Roger Littlewood rocompliance@ofgem.gov.uk 020 7901 7136

1The Renewables Obligation Order 2009 (as amended), Renewables Obligation (Scotland) 2009 (as amended)
and Renewables Obligation (Northern Ireland) 2009 (as amended).

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Renewables Obligation - total obligation levels for 2012-13