British Gas Launches Greenest Energy Tariff (31 July

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News

31 July 2007

British Gas launches greenest energy tariff

British Gas announced today it is launching two new green energy tariffs, Zero Carbon, which will be the greenest tariff available on the domestic market and Future Energy. British Gas has launched the tariffs, which will be available from 31 July, in response to the increasing demand for green energy products.

Householders signing up to the Zero Carbon tariff will:

z reduce their household energy carbon emissions to zero through Kyoto compliant offset schemes which will meet the new Defra requirements z help fund a direct increase in investment in renewable energy generated in the UK z contribute to the new British Gas green fund which will: { invest in developing new renewable technologies such as wave power { oversee a programme to help schools in the UK reduce their CO2 emissions

Gearóid Lane, Managing Director British Gas New Energy said, ”Our new tariff responds to consumer demand for truly green energy solutions. It is essential that customers have confidence in green energy tariffs and that their credibility is not damaged by tariffs that claim to be green but in reality do not deliver any incremental environmental benefits. Green tariffs are moving from niche to mainstream products and we’re leading the industry by offering a tariff that will do more for the environment than any other product currently available.”

Under the government’s Renewables Obligation (RO), electricity suppliers in the UK are already required to produce an increasing percentage of their electricity through methods such as wind farms which, unlike traditional power plants, produce zero carbon emissions. For 2007/2008 this figure is set at 7.9%.

In a recent report, the National Consumer Council (NCC) raised concerns that some energy suppliers are packaging electricity which is produced under the RO scheme as “green”, yet it delivers no additional environmental benefits. The NCC called on energy suppliers to take steps beyond their legal requirements and offer green energy tariffs that provide genuine additional environmental benefits, in particular CO2 emissions reduction.

British Gas worked with Global Action Plan and The Climate Group’s ‘We’re in this Together’ campaign to develop Zero Carbon which goes further than any other green tariff in meeting these requirements offering consumers the only zero carbon option on the market.

The tariff carries a premium of £84 per year, reflecting the higher cost of producing energy through lower carbon emission schemes.

Virginia Graham, Chair of Global Action Plan, said, “The British Gas Zero Carbon tariff delivers on all three of the essential requirements of a green tariff which are: additionality, transparency and verifiability. As such it is a very welcome new offering in the market. Consumers signing up to the tariff can be confident that they are getting 12 per cent more WorldReginfo - d99b10fc-88d9-4d34-b9db-c3976fe800c8 http://www.centrica.com/index.asp?pageid=29&newsid=1081 17/07/2008 Centrica plc - Investors - News - British Gas launches greenest energy tariff (31 July ... Page 2 sur 5

renewable energy than they would otherwise have got. The carbon emissions from their electricity and gas will also be offset with emissions reductions from projects accredited by the United Nations.”

Zero Carbon is one of the first initiatives launched through the ‘We’re in this Together’ campaign, which was launched in April 2007 as an alliance of some of the UK’s biggest brands who are all working to help their customers reduce their impact on the climate.

Dr Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group and founder of ‘We’re in this Together’ said, “We’re committed to offering people ways to make a real impact on climate change through Together.com. We’ve worked with British Gas to ensure that Zero Carbon is a genuine step forward in delivering more environmental benefits than any other tariff currently available.”

British Gas’ second green energy tariff, Future Energy, offers an alternative green electricity tariff at a premium of just £20 per year. Customers signing up to this tariff will contribute to a green fund which will provide solar panels and other renewable energy technologies to UK schools. Money from the fund will also be invested in development of future renewable technologies and sources.

To sign up customers can call British Gas on 0845 604 0055 or visit www.britishgas.co.uk

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

For more information contact Anne Morton on 01753 494106 / 07979 566274.

Product details For every customer signing up to Zero Carbon, British Gas will:

z Increase investment in renewable energy (we will retire an additional 12% of ROCs above our government obligation for each customer on this product. This means more money is invested into long term renewable projects). z Contribute to the non-profit British Gas green fund which will help schools to reduce their CO2 emissions. z 100% of the renewable energy purchased will be backed with LECs & REGOs, which are proof that the electricity purchased by us is from a renewable source

z Offset all of the CO2 emissions for the gas and electricity supplied under a Kyoto compliant carbon-offsetting scheme which will meet the new Defra requirements. z Issue further advice and tools to help to reduce household energy consumption and save money on energy bills. z Actively encourage customers to reduce their consumption by completing an Energy Savers Report z This tariff carries an £84 premium on average annual dual fuel consumption

For every customer signing up to Future Energy British Gas will:

z Invest 100% of the customer’s contribution into the non-profit British Gas green fund : £5 will go to UK schools to help reduce their CO2 emissions. The rest will be invested in development of new renewable technologies and resources. z For every kWh of electricity used by a Future Energy customer, British Gas will supply a kWh of renewable energy to the national grid at the same price as our standard WorldReginfo - d99b10fc-88d9-4d34-b9db-c3976fe800c8 http://www.centrica.com/index.asp?pageid=29&newsid=1081 17/07/2008 Centrica plc - Investors - News - British Gas launches greenest energy tariff (31 July ... Page 3 sur 5

tariff. 100% of the renewable energy purchased will be backed with LECs & REGOs, which are proof that the electricity purchased by us is from a renewable source. z Issue further advice and tools to help to reduce household energy consumption and save money on energy bills. z Actively encourage customers to reduce their consumption by completing an Energy Savers Report z This tariff carries a £20 premium on average annual electricity consumption

The British Gas green fund is a charitable non-profit fund with two areas of focus:

z a programme to help UK schools reduce their carbon emissions z development of emerging low carbon / renewable technologies.

Glossary of Terms

ROCs – Renewable Obligation Certificates:

z There is an obligation on all licensed electricity suppliers to provide an increasing percentage of electricity supplied from Renewable Sources 2002/03 3% 2007/08 7.9% 2015/16 15.4% z A Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) is awarded for the generation of each MWh from a qualifying plant and is designed to promote new renewable generation. z Suppliers can choose to purchase ROCs or they can pay Ofgem to "buyout" their obligation. z To ensure that our Zero Carbon customers are contributing more than prescribed by the government, we will ‘retire’ an additional 12% of certificates from the market. This increases the value of the remaining certificates, providing a boost to renewable generation and leading to further investment.

LECs – Levy Exemption Certificates

z Climate Change Levy (CCL) is charged on the supply of electricity and gas to non- domestic customers z Electricity produced from a renewable source is exempt from CCL z Each MWh generated by a qualifying renewable source earns a Levy Exemption Certificate (LEC)

REGOs – Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin

z EU Renewables Directive calls for member states to promote renewable energy, and to issue Guarantees of Origin z A REGO proves that electricity has been generated from a renewable source z REGOs are used by suppliers to show the renewable portion of the fuel mix of their electricity z REGOs do not support renewable generation financially

Summary of Green Tariffs currently available (as listed on energywatch website - 27 July 2007)

% of additional LEC Gas / elec Annual Premium at Fund – ROCs retired Backed Carbonaverage consumption Contribution Supplier Offset p.a. WorldReginfo - d99b10fc-88d9-4d34-b9db-c3976fe800c8 http://www.centrica.com/index.asp?pageid=29&newsid=1081 17/07/2008 Centrica plc - Investors - News - British Gas launches greenest energy tariff (31 July ... Page 4 sur 5

British Gas Zero 12% 100% Gas & Elec £84 (DF) £5 Carbon British Gas Future 0% 100% Elec £20 (elec) £20 Energy Ecotricity New 0% 100% None c£50* (elec) N/A Energy Plus EDF Energy Green 0% 100% None £14 (elec) £28 Tariff Good Energy 5% 100% None c£100* (elec) None Green Energy +10 0% c18% None c£70 (elec) None Green Energy+100 0% 100% None c£100* (elec) None Npower Juice 0% 84% None None £10 Powergen Go 0% 100% Gas £18 (DF) £9 Green Scottish Power 0% 0% None £10.50 (elec) £10.50 Green Energy Fund Scottish Power 0% 0% None None None H2O SSE Power 2 0% 0% Gas None None SSE RSPB 10% 10% Gas £15 (DF) £20 Year 1 £10 Year 2 on Utilita planetsaver 5% 0% Gas £185 (DF) None (NB: all tariffs are 100% REGO backed) * Average amount that a customer pays above that paid by a typical electricity customer. DF – Dual fuel tariff

About the ‘We’re in this Together’ campaign

'We're in this Together’ (http://www.together.com) is a public campaign which enables people to do something positive about climate change. Many of the UK's favourite brands have united behind the campaign to provide millions of customers with a growing range of new products and ideas that make it easier and cheaper to reduce their CO2 emissions. It was created by leading international NGO The Climate Group and was launched in April 2007 by Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

The campaign partners include B&Q, Barclaycard, British Gas, BSkyB, Marks & Spencer, More Th>n, National Express, O2 and Tesco, who provide their customers with a growing range of new products and ideas that make it easier and cheaper to reduce their household emissions. These initiatives are detailed on www.together.com where the collective reduction in emissions is calculated. The coalition also reaches outside business with active support coming from The Mayor of London, The Church of England, the Energy Saving Trust, Defra, the National Consumer Council and Stop Climate Chaos.

Contact Rob Moore at The Climate Group: [email protected] 020 7960 2986

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