A new report released by the Total Environment Centre (TEC) has found that consumers are increasingly demanding to know how clean their power is.

The Elecricity Retailer Disclosure Study was commissioned in response to the escalating enquiries from the general public on how to switch from ‘dirty’ retailers to more environmentally conscious ones, said TEC’s Executive Director Jeff Angel.

“Clearly they need advice as to which companies are greener alternatives and various NGOs have begun work on this.”

Mr Angel said that a critical part of the move to a clean energy economy, relates to how and where the retailers get their electricity from, about which there is very little available in the public domain.

The ISF report compiles the publicly accessible data relating to issues such as: the fuel mix of generation assets (in the case of gentailers, or retailers which also own or control power stations), CSG investments, support for the RET and carbon price, and commitment to corporate sustainability initiatives and reporting.

 “The report highlights the need for more publicly available information in an easy to understand form,” said TEC energy campaigner Mark Byrne. “The data in the report had to be dredged from multiple sources.”

 “We call on governments and regulators to ensure that retailers publish data every year on the fuel mix and emissions intensity of their sales volume,” Mr Byrne said. “This could take time, so we’ll be working with other environment and consumer groups to take the ISF research to the next stage.” 

The full report can be found here