Ecotricity Tariffs and Green Export Rates

Ecotricity sells electricity and gas to UK households as a green supplier, and its tariff structure is unusual in one important respect: it is exempt from the Ofgem energy price cap. Independent guidance lists Ecotricity alongside Good Energy and 100Green as suppliers outside the cap, and Ecotricity's own terms describe its Green Variable Tariff as derogated from the cap so the company can build more green generation assets¹. That exemption is the single fact that shapes everything else about the tariff, because it means the rate a household pays is set by the supplier rather than by a regulator's ceiling.

The supply itself is renewable-backed. Independent guidance describes Ecotricity as the UK's first green electricity supplier and a key player in renewable generation, with 10% of its renewable electricity generated by the company itself and the rest purchased on the wholesale market from other renewable generators³. On gas, the same guidance notes a small 1% green gas share for dual-fuel tariffs³. The company also runs fixed EV tariffs under the EcoFixed and EcoLoyalty names, with one and two year terms, off-peak windows and exit fees set out in published principal terms⁴.

For a household weighing energy independence, the position is mixed. A green tariff changes who the money goes to and what it funds, but it does not change the physical dependence on the grid, on a supplier's billing systems, or on the gas network for heating. The export side is where a household can move in the other direction, selling generation back rather than buying everything in.

Ecotricity tariffs: what a green supplier sells and how it differs

A green electricity tariff is straightforward to make renewable in a way a gas tariff is not. Independent guidance is explicit that electricity tariffs are easier to make 100% green, with the energy produced from renewable sources such as solar, wind or waves⁵. Green tariffs usually promise 100% renewably sourced electricity as a minimum, with some including renewably sourced gas⁵. Ecotricity sits in that group: independent guidance groups it with 100Green and Good Energy as firms that only sell tariffs backed by 100% renewable electricity and supply a proportion of green gas from biomethane².

The cost position is also consistent across sources. Green electricity is more expensive because green suppliers carry higher operating costs, such as forecasting and demand-management processes². That is a structural difference rather than a marketing premium, and it sits alongside the price cap exemption: a supplier outside the cap carries its own cost base and sets its own rate.

What a household gets for that is a supply contract with a company that also generates. The 10% self-generation figure matters because it means most of the renewable electricity is bought in from other generators rather than produced by Ecotricity, so the green claim rests on the wholesale market and on certification rather than on direct generation³. Independent guidance on what makes an environmental claim credible sets out the tests: show the environmental gain is because the customer chose the tariff, publish fuel mix and environmental benefit information, and prove where renewable energy came from with enough certificates⁶. Those are the questions worth asking of any green tariff, Ecotricity's included.

The wider market context is that green tariffs are not a single product. Uswitch rates the greenest tariffs by certain criteria under its Green Accreditation scheme, which means two tariffs both described as green can differ in what is actually certified³. For households comparing on that basis, comparing energy tariffs sets out how annual costs, labels and projections work.

The tariff range: fixed, standard and Economy 7

There are three main types of energy tariff in the UK market: fixed rate, standard variable, and multi-rate⁷. Ecotricity's published domestic terms cover the Green Variable Tariff, which is a variable rate that may change, and the fixed EV tariffs under the EcoFixed and EcoLoyalty names¹. The variable tariff is the default position for a household that has not taken a fixed deal.

Multi-rate tariffs are the third category, and Economy 7 is the common example. Economy 7 is a time-of-use electricity tariff that charges two different prices depending on when the electricity is used, with a cheaper rate for seven hours a day, usually at night⁸. Independent guidance puts the average Economy 7 off-peak rate at 15.43p/kWh in January 2026, against an assumed on-peak rate of 34.38p/kWh on a 58:42 split¹⁰. Those are market averages rather than Ecotricity rates, and they show the shape of the trade: a cheap night window paid for by a higher day rate.

Whether Economy 7 helps depends on the meter and the appliances. Storage heaters are the classic pairing, and the tariff only pays off where a household can shift a large share of consumption into the night window. Economy 7 tariffs covers rates, night hours and who the structure suits, and which tariffs your meter allows explains the metering constraint.

Fixed EV tariffs: one and two year terms under the EcoLoyalty and EcoFixed names

Ecotricity's fixed EV products are the part of the range with the most detailed published rules. The Domestic EcoFixed 1 Year Fixed EV Tariff fixes charges for one year, 12 months, from the tariff start date⁴. The terms require a smart meter, online account management, monthly Direct Debit and an electric vehicle, and set off-peak rates between midnight and 5am daily⁴.

The EcoLoyalty name covers retention tariffs aimed at existing customers coming to the end of a fixed deal. Ecotricity has published principal terms for a 1 year fixed EV retention tariff and a 2 year fixed tariff, with the 2 year version described as retention-only, paperless and Direct Debit only, carrying £100 per fuel exit fees⁴. A separate 1 year fixed retention tariff for existing customers ending a fixed-term tariff carries a £75 per fuel exit fee.

EV tariffs generally work the same way as Economy 7 in structure: a lower rate per unit at night, with the cheap window sized around a car charging overnight⁹. The difference is the size of the window and the conditions attached. Ecotricity's EV terms tie the cheap rate to a five hour window from midnight to 5am, which is narrower than some market equivalents, so a household charging a large battery or running other appliances overnight should check the window against its own pattern.

Exit fees are the main constraint on these deals. Exit fees and energy tariff contract terms explains how they work across the market, and EV energy tariffs compares the structure of night-rate deals more broadly.

What certified green electricity actually means here

The green claim on an electricity tariff rests on certification rather than on the physical electrons reaching a home, because the grid is shared. Independent guidance on the differences between green suppliers sets out what a credible claim requires: the environmental gain must be because the customer chose the tariff, the supplier must publish its fuel mix and information about the environmental benefit, and it must prove where renewable energy came from with enough certificates⁶.

Ecotricity's position within that framework is that it only sells tariffs backed by 100% renewable electricity, and supplies a proportion of green gas from biomethane². The self-generation figure of 10% is the part of the supply that is directly Ecotricity's own³. The remaining share is bought on the wholesale market from other renewable generators, which is normal for suppliers of this size and is what the certification is there to verify.

On the specific question of vegan electricity, no fact here defines or certifies that term for Ecotricity, so no claim can be made about it. What does exist is a comparable example from another supplier: 100Green is described as the only supplier with a tariff that protects wildlife by avoiding electricity generated where there are migrating birds and fish or fragile ecosystems¹¹. That shows the kind of additional condition a tariff can carry beyond the renewable share, and it is the sort of detail worth checking on any green product.

The practical test for a household is whether the tariff's environmental claim is auditable. Fuel mix disclosure, certificate provenance and the choice-based gain are the three published requirements⁶. A tariff that meets them is doing something different from a standard supply; one that does not is a supply contract with a green label.

Gas supply: green gas, fossil gas and carbon removal

Gas is where green supply is hardest, and the figures are small. Ecotricity generates a 1% green gas share for its dual-fuel tariffs³. For comparison, 100Green supplies at least 10% green gas on all tariffs and 100% on its Ekoenergy tariff¹¹. The gap between 1% and 10% is the clearest single measure of how much of a dual-fuel household's gas is actually renewable under each supplier.

The rest of the gas is fossil, and the market's answer to that is offsetting. Green tariffs can offset the gas and electricity that would leave a carbon footprint by contributing to green projects such as afforestation programmes¹². That is a contribution to a project rather than a change in the fuel burned in the home, and it is worth reading as such.

Green gas tariffs do exist as standalone products. Several suppliers offer green gas tariffs without requiring a household to sign up for electricity or dual fuel¹³. That matters for a household that wants to keep its electricity supply separate, or that has already moved its electricity to a different arrangement. Dual fuel tariffs covers the combined-supply question, and gas-only supply explains when a separate gas account makes sense.

The independence point is blunt here. A gas connection keeps a household on the gas network and on a gas supplier, and no green gas percentage changes that. The 1% figure means the overwhelming majority of the gas burned in an Ecotricity dual-fuel home is fossil gas, offset or not. Households wanting to reduce that dependence are looking at the heating system rather than the tariff, which is a different decision from the one this page covers.

The Smart Export Tariff: getting paid for solar and wind you export

Export payments are the other half of the household energy relationship, and in the UK they run through the Smart Export Guarantee. Independent guidance states that getting paid for exporting solar electricity requires signing up for the Smart Energy Guarantee, and that the payment is made in return for electricity exported¹⁴. The scheme pays for electricity exported to the National Grid, and it is open to households with installed renewables¹⁶.

The structure of a future-facing home combines two things: a smart time-of-use tariff for import and an export tariff for what the home generates¹⁵. That pairing is what turns a solar installation from a cost reduction into a two-way relationship with the grid. The Smart Export Guarantee explains how households are paid, and SEG export rates covers what suppliers pay per kWh.

Eligibility and metering are the practical constraints. Export payments depend on the installation being certified and on metering that records export separately, which is covered in SEG eligibility and requirements. Once an export tariff is in place, readings, statements and payments follow a set process, set out in applying for an export tariff.

For a household with a battery, the export question becomes more complex, because electricity can be stored and sold later rather than exported as generated. Exporting electricity from a home battery covers that, and fixed vs variable export rates explains the difference between a rate that is guaranteed for a period and one that moves.

Pricing, payment and the price cap exemption

The price cap exemption is the defining feature of Ecotricity's pricing. Independent guidance states that Ecotricity, Good Energy and 100Green are exempt from the energy price cap². Ecotricity's own terms confirm the position, describing the Green Variable Tariff as derogated from the Ofgem price cap to allow more green generation assets to be built¹.

What the cap does and does not cover is worth stating precisely. The cap protects customers on a standard variable tariff, which is the default one¹⁷. It applies to payment by standard credit, Direct Debit, prepayment meter or Economy 7 meter¹⁸. Fixed-term tariffs chosen by the customer are not protected by the cap¹⁹. The original policy position was that Ofgem proposed not to provide an exemption, but was considering derogations where a tariff genuinely adds to support for renewable energy and incurs materially higher costs¹⁹. That is the route by which a supplier like Ecotricity sits outside the cap.

Payment method changes the rate. Ecotricity's terms state that customers paying by Direct Debit receive discounted rates, while non-Direct Debit customers pay on receipt of bill rates which are higher¹. The company does not publish the size of that difference in the terms. For scale, Ofgem's October to December 2025 cap summary put the Economy 7 standard credit premium at £84 a year compared with Direct Debit²⁰.

The exemption cuts both ways for independence. It removes a regulatory ceiling, which is a real exposure, and it is also the mechanism by which the supplier says it funds generation. A household weighing that trade is comparing a protected default rate against an unprotected green rate, which is the central question in fixed vs variable energy tariff.

Service record and how complaints are handled

Complaint handling follows a defined route. Ecotricity's terms state that if a complaint has not been resolved within 8 weeks of the date it was raised, it can be referred to Ombudsman Services: Energy, which is free and independent, and Ecotricity is bound by the decision¹. The fixed EV tariff terms repeat the same escalation, with a direct ombudsman telephone number and web address⁴.

Switching is also time-bound. The Green Variable Tariff terms state that the transfer should not take more than 5 working days where there is no outstanding balance¹. The contract can be cancelled within 14 days of the date it was entered, by contacting Ecotricity, and charges incurred up to that point remain payable if the switch has already completed¹.

Credit checking applies to new customers. Ecotricity carries out a credit check when a household applies for the Green Variable Tariff, records it on the credit file, and reports ongoing payment history to credit reference agencies¹. The fixed EV terms state the same for new customers switching to Ecotricity⁴.

On the fixed EV side, the meter requirement carries a deadline with a consequence. If a meter is not installed or is refused within 3 months, and the delay is not Ecotricity's fault, the account reverts to the Out of Contract tariff and exit fees become payable⁴. That is the point at which a household can end up on a worse rate than the one it signed up for, and it is worth understanding before agreeing to a smart meter installation slot.

Moving home is handled more generously than a straight exit. Under the EcoFixed 1 Year Fixed EV terms, moving house during the fixed term does not attract exit fees where the tariff is transferred to the new property, and while rates may change with the new property's location, the term remains the same⁴. Can I take my fixed energy tariff with me when I move home? covers that question across suppliers.