TL;DR
- OVO Greener Energy is a tariff option that adds a renewable claim to a standard OVO supply. Electricity is matched 100% by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs); gas carbon is offset via independent project credits.
- REGOs are tradable certificates separated from the underlying electricity. The 100% claim is technically valid but does not mean OVO procured the electricity directly from a renewable generator.
- The price premium over the OVO standard variable typically runs £30 to £60 per year for a medium-consumption household.
- Customers seeking deeper environmental rigour should compare against suppliers that hold long-term Power Purchase Agreements with renewable generators (Good Energy, Ecotricity), where the procurement linkage is direct.
- Ofgem launched a consultation on stricter green tariff labelling in March 2025; outcomes likely to tighten REGO-only claims by late 2026.
Last reviewed: May 2026
OVO Greener Energy is a respectable but conventional green tariff. The electricity supply is backed by REGO certificates, the standard mechanism for renewable claims in the UK market. Gas, where present, is matched by independently verified carbon offsets. The premium against the OVO standard tariff is small. The underlying green claim is the same kind of claim almost every UK supplier makes on its renewable products: certificate-based, audit-trail compliant, and weaker than a direct procurement linkage.
That is not a criticism of OVO specifically. It is a description of how the UK retail green energy market actually works.
The certificate is the audit trail, not the procurement.
How REGO-backed electricity works
Every megawatt-hour of renewable electricity generated in the UK and reported to Ofgem creates one REGO certificate. The certificate is a tradable asset separate from the electricity itself. A supplier can buy REGOs in volume to match its total customer consumption, regardless of where that customer's supply physically comes from.
OVO Greener Energy uses this mechanism. The supplier purchases enough REGOs to cover the electricity it supplies to Greener Energy customers. The certificates are retired in the Ofgem REGO register, providing the audit trail. Customers can verify the matching through OVO's annual fuel mix disclosure, published each year as required by the Ofgem licence conditions.
The catch is the REGO market price. Certificates have historically traded at a fraction of the underlying electricity cost, typically £0.50 to £2 per MWh. The supplier can buy 100% REGO coverage for a small price uplift. That uplift drives the consumer-visible premium on green tariffs and explains why most UK suppliers can offer "100% renewable" electricity at a modest mark-up.
What REGOs do not provide is a guarantee that the renewable generator chose to generate because of the REGO purchase. Wind farms generate when the wind blows; the REGO is a record, not a signal.
How the gas offsetting works
OVO's gas offsetting layer takes a different approach. Customers' gas consumption is calculated, the embedded carbon is computed at approximately 0.184 kg CO2 per kWh of gas, and OVO purchases carbon credits from offset project portfolios equivalent to the total.
The offset projects are listed on the OVO website and audited under the Verra Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold Standard. The supplier rotates project investments over time; the 2025-26 portfolio included forestry projects in Brazil, an improved cookstove distribution programme in Kenya, and a methane capture scheme at a landfill in India.
Carbon offsetting is widely contested in environmental policy circles. The Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative published criticisms of forestry-heavy offset portfolios in February 2025, pointing to additionality concerns. OVO's portfolio has been reweighted toward methane capture and cookstove projects in part because those project categories survive the additionality test more cleanly.
For a customer who wants to use less gas, the offset is a fig leaf. For a customer who has reduced gas consumption to a minimum and wants to neutralise the remaining footprint, the offset is at least a transparent way to put a price on it.
The premium is the price tag on the audit trail.
The price premium against standard OVO
OVO Greener Energy charges a premium over the OVO standard variable. Below is a sample comparison for a medium-consumption household (2,700 kWh electricity, 11,500 kWh gas) at Q1 2026 rates in the Eastern region.
| Component | Standard variable | Greener Energy | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elec annual cost | £925 | £945 | +£20 |
| Gas annual cost | £925 | £960 | +£35 |
| Standing charges (combined) | £316 | £316 | 0 |
| Total annual | £2,166 | £2,221 | +£55 |
The £55 annual premium maps to roughly 2.5% of total spend. That is the cost of the REGO purchase, the gas offset purchase, and OVO's administrative margin on the green product.
The premium is reasonable for what it delivers. It is not, by itself, evidence of strong environmental impact.
How OVO Greener compares to deeper green tariffs
The UK retail market has a small set of suppliers that go beyond REGO-only matching. Good Energy and Ecotricity both hold long-term Power Purchase Agreements with named renewable generators, meaning the supplier's procurement actively supports specific renewable assets rather than buying certificates after the fact. So Energy occupies a middle position, with a mix of REGOs and direct contracting.
Premiums on the deeper green tariffs are higher, typically £100 to £200 a year above the standard variable for a medium household. The environmental claim is stronger in proportion to the price paid.
OVO Greener Energy is the right product for a customer who wants a credible-but-modest green claim at a small premium. It is the wrong product for a customer who wants to demonstrably support new renewable build-out; for that, the PPA suppliers do more.
Where it breaks: customers who switched to Greener Energy because the marketing suggested direct procurement and only later discovered the REGO mechanism are the source of most published criticism. The supplier's marketing language has tightened since 2023 but remains less explicit than environmental NGOs prefer.
The Ofgem green tariff consultation
In March 2025, Ofgem opened a consultation on tightening the rules around green tariff claims. The headline proposal was to require suppliers to differentiate between REGO-only matching and direct procurement in customer-facing labelling. The consultation closed in July 2025 and a decision is expected by end of 2026.
If the proposal becomes a rule, OVO Greener Energy will likely be required to display a lower-tier green label than products with direct PPA backing. The supplier has not pre-empted the consultation outcome but has signalled it will adopt whatever labelling regime Ofgem requires.
For the consumer, the practical implication is that the "100% renewable" claim is moving toward a tiered system. Today's product would sit in the lower tier; today's PPA-backed products would sit in the upper tier.
Who Greener Energy works for
The customer who benefits from OVO Greener Energy is one who values the basic green claim, wants the supplier admin to handle the offset and certificate purchasing, and is willing to pay a small premium to do so. That is a reasonable position. The premium is small enough that it is not financially punitive even if the environmental impact is modest.
It is also a reasonable starting point for households new to green tariffs. The premium is digestible, the mechanics are transparent, and the audit trail through the REGO register is verifiable. A customer can compare claims, learn the landscape, and switch later to a deeper green product if they want to.
For customers committed to maximum environmental impact, the PPA suppliers remain a better match. For customers who think the REGO system is greenwashing in any form, no UK retail tariff will satisfy and the only honest path is to reduce consumption.
What the Ofgem green tariff consultation could change
The March 2025 Ofgem consultation on green tariff labelling proposed a tiered system to differentiate REGO-only claims from direct procurement claims. The consultation closed in July 2025 and a regulatory decision is expected by end-2026, with new rules likely to take effect during 2027.
Under the proposed tiered system, suppliers would display a clear label indicating the procurement model behind a green tariff. Tier 1 would cover direct Power Purchase Agreements with named generators. Tier 2 would cover REGO matching with additional contractual support to the renewable sector. Tier 3 would cover REGO-only matching from the spot certificate market.
OVO Greener Energy as currently structured would likely fall in Tier 3. The supplier has signalled it will adopt whatever labelling regime Ofgem requires and may strengthen procurement arrangements to qualify for a higher tier.
For customers, the practical implication is that the 100% renewable claim will become more specific. A customer who actively values direct procurement support will be able to identify which tariffs deliver it. A customer who treats all REGO-backed tariffs as equivalent will find that distinction made explicit.
The consultation also raised the possibility of stricter rules on carbon offset claims on gas tariffs. Specific proposals on offsetting have been deferred to a separate workstream expected to launch in late 2026.
One thing to check on the annual fuel mix disclosure
Every UK supplier publishes an annual fuel mix disclosure showing the proportion of generation by source. OVO Greener Energy's disclosure should show 100% renewable on the electricity supply matched to Greener customers. The disclosure also shows the supplier's overall portfolio fuel mix across all customers, which is typically a mix because the supplier also serves customers on non-green tariffs.
The Greener-specific 100% claim is supported by REGO retirement records. Customers concerned about the audit trail can verify the supplier's REGO purchases in the Ofgem REGO register, which is public. The verification is granular enough to confirm that the certificates were retired against customer consumption.
Editorial disclaimer. Kaeltripton is an independent UK finance publisher. This article is general information for UK adults making their own decisions, not regulated financial advice. Green tariff rules, REGO market prices, and offset programmes change. Figures reflect OVO, Ofgem, and Verra publications dated before the last-reviewed date at the top of this page. For complaints, refunds, or vulnerable-customer protection the formal route runs through the supplier first and then the Energy Ombudsman.
FAQ
Does Greener Energy mean physical electricity from renewables?
Not directly. The UK grid is a shared system; physical electrons cannot be allocated by tariff. OVO matches customer consumption with REGO certificates equivalent to renewable generation elsewhere on the grid.
Is gas actually green under this tariff?
No. Gas remains a fossil fuel. OVO's offset mechanism pays for projects that reduce or remove carbon emissions elsewhere, equivalent to the gas footprint. This is not the same as the gas itself being low-carbon.
Can specific renewable generators be matched to customer consumption?
The matching is portfolio-level, not customer-level. OVO publishes its annual fuel mix disclosure showing the renewable mix; specific generator-to-customer mapping does not exist under the REGO system.
Is the price premium worth paying?
That depends on the customer's environmental priorities. The premium is small (£30 to £60 a year) and the matching is real, but the impact on new renewable build-out is limited compared to PPA-backed alternatives.
Will Ofgem ban REGO-only green tariffs?
A March 2025 Ofgem consultation proposed tiered labelling rather than a ban. The decision is pending and expected by end of 2026.
Are gas offsets verified by independent auditors?
Yes. OVO's offset portfolio uses Verra Verified Carbon Standard and Gold Standard projects, both of which require independent third-party verification.