Electricity companies are misleading hundreds of thousands of customers by claiming to supply 100pc renewable power, an advertising watchdog investigation has found.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) says the claim, investigated in adverts by Energia but used industry-wide, must be dropped from marketing materials.
It found that customers who signed up for 100pc renewable plans were still receiving electricity from fossil fuels including gas, oil, coal and peat.
That is because Ireland only has enough wind farms and solar parks to supply about 30-40pc of the country’s electricity needs.
Companies can claim to supply 100pc renewable power by using a Europe-wide Guarantees of Origin (GO) scheme.
It allows them to buy certificates from renewable energy producers abroad to make up for the lack of green electricity in Ireland. The certificates do not mean the green power is used in Ireland, however.
Most GOs bought by suppliers here come from Norway. There is no interconnector between Ireland and Norway – so there is no way for power generated renewably there to be used here.
While the GO scheme is legal and overseen here by the energy regulator, the ASAI investigation found claims based on it were misleading to the ordinary consumer.
Six sections of the advertisers’ code of conduct were breached, it said, including the requirement that “advertisers should not exploit the credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge of consumers.”
The investigation was...
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