The Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) published the highlights of its 2022 Annual Report on 7 August 2023, setting out membership, monitoring, enforcement and complaint figures for the year. The report covers what RECC describes as the year the UK emerged from the shadow of COVID-19, and in which the energy crisis drove domestic electricity and gas prices up sharply1.
At the end of 2022, 3,037 businesses were RECC members of the Code, and RECC members installed over 108,000 renewable energy generators across the UK. During the year, 1,675 businesses applied to become a RECC member, and 1,642 businesses were monitored in line with RECC's Monitoring Strategy1.
On compliance, 121 members were asked to respond to breaches of RECC's Code and/or Bye-Laws. Through its Dispute Resolution Process, £176,557 was recovered for consumers1.
RECC said it worked closely with Government to ensure that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme was running smoothly and consumers were protected, and that it continued to offer Code Members installing solar PV, battery storage and wind only a pay-as-you-go membership option. It also said it streamlined its processes to ensure they were robust and fit-for-purpose as the sector geared up for the Government's Net Zero targets1.
"The RECC Annual Report describes the huge body of work RECC carried out in 2022"
The report breaks RECC's activities into sections covering Code Membership, Monitoring Compliance with the Code, Enforcing Compliance with the Code and Consumer Complaints1. The full report is published on RECC's site1.
| 2022 figure | Value |
|---|---|
| RECC member businesses at year end | 3,037 |
| Renewable energy generators installed by members | Over 108,000 |
| Businesses applying for membership | 1,675 |
| Businesses monitored | 1,642 |
| Members asked to respond to breaches | 121 |
| Recovered for consumers through dispute resolution | £176,557 |
Why it matters for households
RECC is one of the consumer codes that sits behind installer schemes in the UK, and its figures give a sense of scale for the market households buy from. The 108,000-plus generators installed by members in 2022 were registered on the MCS (MID) database, the record used for installations eligible under schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme1. For a household, membership of a code is one of the checks available before work starts, and the dispute resolution figure shows what the process recovered in a single year. The installer schemes and consumer codes landscape includes RECC alongside TrustMark and HIES, and RECC's own protections and complaints route are set out in its code guide. Households weighing a quote may also want to understand insurance-backed guarantees and VAT on energy saving installations, both of which affect the total cost of a job.
What happens next
No dated next steps are set out in the report highlights. The full 2022 Annual Report is available from RECC1.