Supplier fuel mix – how is energy generated?

The energy you use at home is generated from a mixture of fossil fuels, electricity plants and renewable energy sources such as wind, almost two-thirds of this energy comes from various places across the world.

But although we may use a lot of resources from other countries, over half of the UK’s home-grown energy comes from renewable sources, which is great for the future of the industry and the environment.

Over time, the way we pay for gas and electricity has changed, with online payments and Direct Debits becoming more and more popular, and the way the Big Six energy suppliers get their energy has also changed. So it’s important to know where your supplier gets power from, not only to find out how its energy sources can affect the cost of your bills, but also the environment.

Where does your energy come from?

Different energy suppliers get their energy from different places, and each of the Big Six have varying levels of fuel mix.

What is energy fuel mix?

The energy we use in our homes is generated from a mix of different sources, including nuclear, coal and renewables, such as wind, water and solar. The different amounts of each fuel that goes into generating our household energy makes up your supplier’s fuel mix.

Check the links below to find out the exact fuel mix for each of the Big Six:

• British Gas
• E.ON
• SSE
• NPower
• EDF
• ScottishPower

Checking the fuel mix offers an interesting insight into how each supplier operates, and can affect which supplier you go with, particularly if you have strong feelings about renewables or nuclear energy. NPower and EDF Energy, for instance, offer the least progress on renewable energy.

What makes up your energy supplier fuel mix?

There are a range of different types of energy that make up each energy suppliers’ fuel mix, but there are four main sources of energy:

• Natural gas
• Renewable energy
• Fossil fuels (coal)
• Nuclear energy.

Natural gas is mined from deep underground and isn’t a renewable source of energy. It’s heavily used in the industry, but the greater call for green energy means we are moving away from natural gases as a power source.

Renewable energy, is taken from naturally-occurring sources, which could be anything from wind, power from the tide in the sea, sunlight or even heat from geothermal sources. This is the way the market is moving as the Earth’s natural resources become depleted.

To create energy from fossil fuels, coal is mined and burned to create heat energy, which isn’t very efficient because there’s only a finite amount of coal in the world.

Nuclear energy is a clean energy resource that involves splitting elements to create steam which then generates power through a turbine.

These four sources are used to create the mixture your supplier with rely on the meet power needs across the UK. If you’re unhappy with the energy sources or price from your provider, you can compare suppliers at UKPower.

How to switch to renewable energy sources

Although switching to a more eco-friendly energy deal can be a little more expensive, to legislate for the new technology needed to generate power from renewable sources, it’s worth doing your bit for the environment if you can afford the extra outlay each month.

There are a number of businesses that offer green energy composition as their sole form of power. The best way to find this out is to compare throughout the market. You can start with our website, but it’s also worth taking a look at who does it the best. It might not be from one of the Big Six suppliers, too. Green energy composition varies with each business, so you would be right in doing your research, and make sure the green tariff you choose is certified by the Ofgem Green Energy Label scheme.

There is no doubt that the use of renewable energy is constantly growing, not least because the UK has strict targets to meet to reduce its carbon footprint, and energy suppliers will start adding new tariffs to reflect their dedication too.

The most important role you can play is knowing what your supplier is doing. If they aren’t doing something for you, then you can always compare the efforts of the other companies in the market. There’s no shortage of competition, so take a look at how your supplier splits their fuel mix.