09 July 2015

UK ends the LEC

The government of the UK will remove the Climate Change Levy exemption for renewably sourced electricity from 1 August 2015. 

The removal of the CCL, and with it the LEC, was publically announced on 8 July as part of the UK government's 2015 summer budget. The government is allowing for a "transitional period" in which renewable generators are allowed to claim the levy exeption for electricity produced prior to 1 August 2015. 

George Osborne, First Secretary of State, said in a speech, "Now we have a long-term framework for investment in renewable energy in place, we will remove the outdated Climate Change Levy exemption for renewable electricity that has seen taxpayer money benefitting electricity generation abroad". 

The UK is one of the few European countries not to have adopted the European EECS standards for Guarantees of Origin. RECS International is of the optinion that the confusion in the UK between the various certificates and relationship between LECs, REGOs and GOs was part of the reason the LEC certificate did not function as desired. Without proper standardization of electricity attribute tracking instruments UK businesses will continue to have intransparent information about their electricity consumption. 

For more information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-budget-2015/summer-budget-2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/11727378/Budget-2015-Green-energy-companies-hit-as-Chancellor-slashes-renewables-subsidies.html#disqus_thread