On 3 July 2023 REAL launched the Renewable Adjudication Service, which now forms the second stage of the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) Dispute Resolution Process, replacing the independent arbitration service1. The service is provided for RECC by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)1. RECC announced the change in a news item posted on 6 July 20231.
Under the process, RECC first works with the consumer and the member firm to mediate a resolution both are happy with. If a resolution has not been possible, the consumer has the right to refer the complaint to the Renewable Adjudication Service1. A trained adjudicator then considers all the evidence submitted by both the firm and the consumer and drafts a decision. Both sides have the chance to see and comment on a preliminary decision1.
Once the decision is final, the consumer decides whether to accept it. If they accept, the decision should be implemented as quickly as possible. If they do not, the firm can still pursue the matter through the courts, and in those circumstances the decision would have to be made available to the judge, who would take it into account as part of the evidence1.
RECC said it had updated the Code, the Bye-Laws and the guidance for consumers and members to reflect the changes1.
"On 3 July REAL launched the Renewable Adjudication Service. This now forms the second stage of the RECC Dispute Resolution Process, replacing the independent arbitration service."
The announcement does not give figures for case volumes, timescales for adjudication decisions, or the cost of using the service, and none of these has been reported1. The RECC news item also does not state how the adjudication outcome is enforced where a member firm declines to implement an accepted decision, beyond the position that the consumer may decline it and the matter may proceed to court1.
Why it matters for households
The change affects what happens when a complaint about a renewable installation cannot be settled directly with the company. For households whose installer is signed up to the Renewable Energy Consumer Code, the route beyond mediation now runs to an adjudicator supplied by CEDR rather than to independent arbitration1. That is the stage a household reaches after mediation has failed, and it is the point at which an outside party weighs the evidence from both sides and issues a decision1.
The practical limit is that the outcome depends on the consumer accepting it. An accepted decision is expected to be implemented quickly, but a consumer who rejects it leaves the firm free to go to court, where the decision is treated as evidence rather than as a binding order1. For a household weighing up a complaint to the Renewable Energy Consumer Code, the mechanism therefore offers a route to a reasoned decision without going to court, but not a guarantee of enforcement. Households whose installer is under a different code, such as HIES, fall outside this process; the two codes are separate1.
What happens next
RECC has already updated the Code, the Bye-Laws and its guidance for consumers and members to reflect the new service1. No further dates or transitional arrangements are given in the announcement1.