How does FiT work?

The FiT scheme allows you to receive payments for generating your own electricity. You get a payment based on the total amount you generate, even if you use some of it yourself. You also get a payment for the amount that is exported to the National Grid because you haven’t used it at home.

How do I apply?

The Feed-in Tariff scheme closed to new applicants on 31^st March 2019. If you commissioned your system and got your Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certificate issued before that date, you had until 31^st March 2020 to register to receive payments.

What supporting documents do I need to provide?

• Proof of address – a copy of your driving license, a bank statement, a utility bill or a lease agreement
• Proof of ownership – a copy of your installer’s invoice, sale and purchase agreement or commissioning certificate. Unfortunately, we can’t accept your MCS certificate as proof of ownership. The invoice or purchase agreement must state ‘Paid in full’ or ‘Full payment received’ so that we know the panels have been paid for.
• Proof of ID – a copy of your driving license or passport.
• MCS Certificate or ROO-FIT letter
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) or EPC exemption
• Letter of authority – if you’re applying on behalf of a company, you’ll need a letter on company headed paper authorising you to manage the FiT account on their behalf.

I’ve submitted my application, what happens now?

FiT applications usually take between 4 and 5 weeks to process. We start by looking over your application and making sure we have all the right documents and that your installation is eligible for FiT payments. We then create an account for you and register the installation with Ofgem. If there are any problems with your application we’ll contact you to let you know.

Once we’ve registered your application, we’ll send you an acceptance letter confirming your FiT ID, your eligibility date, your tariff and information about submitting meter reads.

What tariff will I be on?

Your tariff will depend on:

• What type of technology you have installed at the property and in addition, we need to know
• The total installed capacity of your Microgeneration system
• For PV installations, we also have to consider your energy efficiency rating.

FiT tariffs are controlled by Ofgem and BEIS and also depend on when you joined the FiT scheme. Your tariff will increase slightly each year in line with inflation. Go to Ofgem for information about rates for new installations.

When will my FiT payments start?

The date your payments start depends on your eligibility date. This is the later of the following:

• The date a FIT supplier receives a written request for FIT registration (including MCS certificate and supporting documentation) i.e. the date an application is received by the licensee
• The date that Ofgem receive an application for ROO-FIT accreditation
• The commissioning date of the installation.

Once your account is fully registered, as long as we receive a valid meter reading, you’ll receive a payment in the next payment quarter. Your first payment will be backdated to the date of your start meter reading.

How is my payment calculated?

First we work out how much generation we need to pay you for. We do this by subtracting the last reading we paid you for, or your start meter read, from the most recent reading you’ve given us. We then convert this figure into a monetary value based on your generation tariff and deemed export tariff rates. After that, we calculate a total for all our customers and submit this amount to Ofgem. Once they have paid us, we make payments to all our FiT customers.

You’ll usually receive your payment about two months after the meter read deadline.

How will you send my payment?

Your payment will go directly into your nominated bank account. Please make sure we have up to date details for your bank account, otherwise your payment might be delayed.

I haven’t received my remittance, can you send it again?

We pay out remittances after each quarterly payment. You’ll receive it by email or post, depending on your preferences.

If you’ve chosen to receive your remittance by email, please check your spam and junk folders if you haven’t received it. If you still haven’t received us then please get in touch so we can check we have the right contact details for you.

Will you let me know if my payment has been delayed?

If for any reason we’re unable to send your payment within our planned timeframes, we will contact you to let you know. If there is a holdup, it could be because we don’t have your bank details – so please make sure you give us these.

How do I update my payment details?

If you need to amend your bank details, please complete the change of payment details form as soon as possible. Please call Customer Care so we can send you this form.

Will I have to pay tax on my FiT payments?

Domestic customers do not have to pay tax on FiT payments. Business customers will need to check with HM Revenue & Customs.

Can I pay my energy bills with money I earn from FiT?

Your FiT account and supply account are completely separate, which means they can’t be offset against one another. You’ll still need to pay your energy bill as normal.

Why does it take two months for my payment to be processed?

This is because Ofgem have to calculate the FiT payment fund (known as the ‘levelisation’ process) for the quarter after all FiT suppliers have submitted their generation data to them – including us.

All energy suppliers have to pay a contribution into the fund proportionate to their share of UK electricity customers. Ofgem invoices energy suppliers for their contribution around four weeks after the end of the quarter. Once all energy suppliers have paid into the fund, we receive the money to pay you around six weeks after the end of the quarter.

We make payments to generators as soon as we can after receiving this payment from Ofgem – this usually takes no longer than two weeks.

Can you use my commissioning read as my start read?

Ofgem Legislation states that an installation only becomes eligible from when we receive an application. Once your system has been installed and you’ve received your MCS certificate, please send your application as soon as possible so we can secure the earliest possible eligibility date. We can only accept a start meter read from the date we receive an application onwards, so we would recommend you send us your application as soon as your panels have been installed. This is to make sure you get paid for the maximum amount of generation.

Who is responsible for reading my generation meter?

It’s up to you to send us your meter readings every quarter to receive your payments.

Someone will come to inspect your meter periodically, but this is only to make sure it’s working correctly. The readings they take don’t get passed onto the FiT team.

How often should I submit meter readings?

Please submit your meter readings quarterly, in March, June, September and December. The deadline is usually the 20th of the month. Your first meter reading – often referred to as your start meter read – is used to start your FiT payments and this is when your first payment will be paid from.

Will you send me a meter read reminder?

We send quarterly meter read reminders about two weeks before a reading is due. You can choose to receive your reminders by email or post. The emails come from a ‘no reply’ address which some email providers will block, so remember to check your spam or junk folder.

How do I submit meter readings?

The best way to submit your meter reading to us is online or via our mobile app. To submit a reading you will need your account number, meter serial number and installation address – these are all listed on your acceptance letter. You’ll receive a confirmation email once we’ve validated the reading and added it to your account. We’ll get in touch to let you know if there are any problems with your reading.

Should I include a decimal point in my meter reading?

Yes. Most generation meters have a decimal point two digits from the end of the number, which can sometimes be quite difficult to see. For example, a reading of 10000 could actually be 100.00. So if you can submit your reading including the decimal point, please do. And if you’re not sure, please send us a photo of your meter reading to helping us verify it.

Can you estimate how many units I will generate?

We can’t use estimated readings to work out your FiT payments.

Please check your MCS certificate if you’d like to know your estimated annual generation.

How do I take a reading from my generation meter?

Your generation meter will have a panel on the front which shows the reading. We require the kW generated, including the decimal places. If you’re not sure where your meter is, please contact your installer.

Why would a meter read fail and why do you need a photo of the meter?

We assess your meter readings using ‘Season Tolerance levels’ which are calculated based on historical weather data throughout the year. Readings that fall outside this range may be rejected, so we may ask for a photograph to prove the reading is correct.

If I don’t submit a reading will I miss out on my payment?

If you don’t submit a reading before the quarterly deadline, the payment will roll over to the next quarter. As long as you submit a valid meter reading before the next deadline, the two quarters will be combined. You’ll never miss out on payments owed to you.

What do I do if my meter isn’t working properly?

If you think your meter may not be working properly, or if you have submitted a reading which has failed our tolerance checks for being too low, then you will need to contact your installer and have them check the installation is performing as it should be.

My meter is being replaced. Do I need to do anything?

If your meter is changed, we’ll need the below information from you so we can update your account and help make sure there aren’t any gaps in your payments:

• The date the old meter was removed and a reading taken on this date
• The date the new meter was installed and a reading taken on this date
• The new meter model and make.

If possible, please make a note of the last reading from the old meter. Without it, we won’t be able to calculate how much was generated before it was removed, which means you may miss out on a payment for this period. We also need to update Ofgem to show this meter has been changed.

What is deemed export?

The term ‘deemed export’ is an industry term for estimated export. The Feed-in Tariff scheme pays generators for their total generation and for their deemed exported electricity. These are combined into one quarterly payment.

At the moment, the government hasn’t said it’s necessary to measure the exact number of units of electricity exported to the grid. Instead, the amount of exported electricity will be ‘deemed’ based on the amount generated. For micro hydro systems this is 75% of the total generated. For all other technologies, including home solar panels, the level of export is ‘deemed’ to be 50% of total generation.

Do I need an export meter?

An export meter measures the electricity you export to the grid. For generators under 30kW in size it would only be worth installing an export meter if you will be exporting significantly more than 50% of your total generation (or 75% for hydro installations). There are costs involved with installing and maintaining the export meter so these are not normally used for sites under 30kW. If you think your site is suitable for an export meter, you might want to consider Good Energy Smartgen.

I’m selling my property and the attached FiT technology, what do I need to do?

1. Let us know as soon as you can. Don’t give your account details to the new owners, otherwise we may end up making overpayments to you.
2. Take a meter reading from your generation meter the day the sale completes and send it to us. This will allow us to close your account and make your final payment.
3. Give us your forwarding address in case we need to contact you.
4. Provide written confirmation of the date of completion and the new owner’s name. Please also confirm the site address and that the installation was included in the sale of the property. This will act as proof of ownership for the new owners and allow the Feed-in Tariff payments to transfer to them.

I’m selling my property but not including the FiT technology in the sale, what do I need to do?

Please let us know as soon as possible so that we can note this on your account. If the site address was also your correspondence address, please make sure we have your new contact details.

What happens if I buy a property that has FiT-registered solar panels?

You’ll need to agree as part of the sale that you’ll take over the FiT contract and ownership of the panels.

So that we can register the change of ownership with Ofgem, please complete the FiT Change of Ownership application form.

Return this to us along with:

1. Proof of ID
2. Proof you now own the panels, known as Proof of Ownership. This is confirmation from either the previous owner or your solicitor, in writing (letter or email), that the solar panels were included in the sale of the property to you, including confirmation of the property address, your full name, and the date of completion. You can also provide copies of the TA10 Fixtures and Fittings form, which you will have received after completion, with the Land Registry document. We do not accept a sale and purchase agreement as a form of Proof of Ownership.

My parent/spouse/family member has passed away and I need to transfer the Feed-in Tariff payments.

Please accept our sincerest condolences for your loss. To transfer FiT payments, please get in touch as soon as you’re able to do and provide a copy of the death certificate. Outstanding payments will be made to the executor of the estate, so please also let us know who this is. We’ll then be able to arrange a change of ownership application for the person who has inherited or purchased the property.

I’ve inherited a property from a family member with an attached FiT installation, how do I transfer the ownership to me?

We appreciate this may not be an easy time for you. To transfer ownership, we’ll need you to complete the FiT Change of Ownership application form and return this to us along with:

1. Proof of your ID
2. A photocopy of the death certificate
3. The will or probate document

How do I change my FiT licensee?

This is called ‘switching’. If you want to switch to Good Energy please complete our Switch application form. We will arrange a ‘final read’ with your current licensee and let Ofgem know about the change. Please note that all tariffs are set by BEIS and Ofgem and are consistent across all FiT licensees.

I have a battery installed as part of my FiT installation, do I need to tell my Licensee?

Yes – it’s an Ofgem requirement to tell us if you have battery storage installed as part of your FiT installation.

What do I need to do if I have a battery installed?

If your FiT installation includes batter storage, please send in a schematic of the installation with your application form. We’ll need to review this to determine if the system is eligible for FiT payments.

My FiT account is already set up and I have a battery, do I need to do anything?

OFGEM have said that all systems which include a battery, whether they are existing or new installations, need to be declared to your licensee. If this applies to you, please send us a schematic showing where the battery is located within your installation.

If you have a question about FiT for your home, email the FiT team at hello@goodenergy.co.uk or get in touch with our Customer Care team.

If you have a question about FiT for your business, email fitb2b@goodenergy.co.uk.

How can I make a complaint about my FiT account?

We work hard to make sure all of our staff are well-trained and highly knowledgeable across all areas of the business, but unfortunately things do sometimes go wrong. If you’re not happy with our service, please follow our complaints procedure and we’ll get things resolved as soon as we can.

Feed-in Tariff licensees (like Good Energy) need to verify generation and/or export meter readings at least once every two years from your installation’s registration date. Ofgem requires us to do this as a condition of you continuing to receive FiT payments.

Good Energy or a company working on our behalf verify readings either by physically reading your meter or by you submitting photographs or videos of your meter.

Where customers don’t submit photos to enable us to verify their generation meter, we will work with our meter reading agents, Lowri Beck, to send someone to inspect it in person.

We always aim to tell customers before their inspection is due that Lowri Beck will be visiting. They will make a total of three attempts to read your meter. If you’re not in at these times, they will contact you to arrange an appointment, or refer back to us if they are not able to make contact with you at all.

The Lowri Beck operative will need to confirm the serial number and take a reading. They will carry identification with them so that you’ll know they’re from Lowri Beck.

Please see:  https://www.lowribeck.co.uk/meter-reading-covid

We will only contact you if there is an issue with the reading or serial number that was taken at the time.

Lowri Beck return the readings to us, but they will not be added to your account. Please submit your readings as usual when asked to do so.

The meter readers do not have technical qualifications, so won’t be able to give advice on maintenance or performance issues.