Have you heard of Greencheck? It is a tool created by Brugel, the Brussels regulator for the gas and electricity markets. It allows Brussels residents to obtain information on the amount of green electricity they actually receive, and to display the energy source (wind, solar, hydro, etc.) and its geographical origin (Norway, Finland, Flanders, etc.).
But what is "green" or "clean" electricity? "Green" electricity is electricity that is produced exclusively in an environmentally friendly way, using renewable energy sources such as water, wind, biomass, solar photovoltaic or geothermal energy.
Electricity suppliers are obliged to submit a list of customers who are supplied with green electricity, to the distribution system operators (DSOs) every month. They also need to specify, for each of these customers, the share of green electricity in the total electricity supply. What's more, in order to sell so-called "green" energy, they must be able to prove that it is renewable to the regional regulator, either by being producers themselves or by purchasing Guarantees of Origin (GO) which make it possible to ascertain the origin of the energy supplied.
It is therefore possible to find out on Greencheck the percentage of green electricity declared by the supplier and compare it with the percentage validated by Brugel.
Want to check it out? It couldn't be simpler!
- Go to: greencheck
- Have one of your electricity bills to hand.
- Enter the EAN electricity code (18 digits starting with 5414) for which you want to perform the check.
- You will then get the percentage of green energy supply for the EAN code entered.
- Click on a green column to display details of your energy supply (Geographical origin, Energy source)
Bear in mind that if you have a "grey" supply contract, it is normal that your consumption does not appear. In effect, if you have not specifically opted for a contract that guarantees you a share of green electricity, your supplier is not obliged to supply you with any.
