Skip to main content

We know that navigating the world of community energy can be complex. Browse the questions below by topic.

Generator FAQs

Can I get Feed in Tariff (FiT) generation payments?

You can continue to receive FiT generation payments with the current FiT provider whilst receiving PPA payments. If you want to switch the FiT account, you need to complete the form here. Please note Younity doesn’t directly handle anything to do with FiT switches.

What does a Meter Operator do?

Installs and maintains the meter and carries out any fixes on the meter.

Can I get FiT export payments and PPA export payments at the same time?

No, you can only have one of the other. You can still continue to receive FiT generation payments.

Do you know what the MOP, DC and DA costs would be to enter into a customer MOP contract?

A MOP contract is usually based on a five year agreement and costs around £250 – £600 per annum depending on the type of half hourly supply.

Are there any additional costs in the PPA contract, i.e. admin or operational costs?

No.

Can we get a contract for our import supply too?

No, Younity only provides contracts for your export supply.

Do I need a DC/DA contract to enter a PPA?

No, you don’t need a DC/DA contract to enter a PPA, but we recommend it to get the best service for your data. If you have a direct contract in place with agents of your own choice, any additional charges will be invoiced to you directly by your appointed agents. If you do not have direct agent contracts in place, Younity will appoint IMServ on your behalf.

What needs to be done to reconfigure the supply meter, so it reads export as well?

Both Import and Export MPAN Meter Operators need to be the same and aligned to be industry compliant.

What does a DNO do?

Owns and operates the distribution network, responsible for delivering power to end users.

What does a Data Aggregator do?

The Data Aggregator (DA) is an organisation accredited to carry out Data Aggregation for half-hourly metering data. The DA is appointed by the Supplier to aggregate consumption from half-hourly Data Collector(s) so that this can be validated and used for billing. Usually the data collector and data aggregator are the same company but this is not essential.

What does a Data Collector do?

The Data Collector (DC) is an organisation accredited to carry out Data Collection for half-hourly metering systems. The DC is appointed by the supplier to retrieve and validate metering data and forward it to the Data Aggregator. The DC may be appointed by the customer but must always be accredited and contracted to the customer’s supplier.

Community Power Club

What is Class A Licence Exempt Supply?

Class A Licence Exempt Supply is designed for small suppliers, enabling small scale generators to supply no more than 5MW without needing a fully supply licence. No more than 2.5MW of this can be supplied to domestic customers. The legal definition from the UK’s Electricity Order 2001 is as follows:

Class A: Small suppliers

Persons (other than licensed suppliers) who do not supply any electricity except electricity which they generate themselves and who do not at any time supply more electrical power than 5 megawatts of which not more than 2.5 megawatts is supplied to domestic consumers.

A.1. For the purposes of Class A electrical power supplied by a body corporate which is associated with any supplier shall be treated as supplied by that supplier.

What is Licence Exempt Supply?

Licence Exempt Supply allows electricity generators to supply directly to consumers without having to hold a full electricity supply licence, under certain conditions as set out in the UK's Electricity Order 2001.

There are different classifications of licence exempt supply and these have different eligibility criteria, some also have specific volume limits.

Who is eligible to be a Class A licence exempt supplier?

To be a Class A licence exempt supplier you need to be:

  • Supplying electricity which you have generated yourself, such as through Solar PV, Wind or Hydro.
  • Be supplying, across all classifications of licence exempt supply, no more than 5MW (of which no more than 2.5MW per hour supplied to domestic customers) of supply. N.B. These limits are applied per body corporate, meaning any Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) or associated bodies will be considered together with your organisation as one entity, not separately.
  • Not be in receipt of ROCs or FiT export.

Please note you are responsible for confirming your eligibility under the Class A Licence Exempt Supply rules and ensuring that you remain compliant.

What is Class C Licence Exempt Supply?

Class C Licence Exempt Supply applies to onsite and private wire supplies. It allows generators to supply directly to specific consumers on the same site, or via private wires, without needing a fully supply license. The full definition can be found here.

Why have Younity asked about my other projects?

As Community Power Club is based on the Class A licence exempt supply rules, we need to verify that you’re eligible to be a Class A licence exempt supplier in order to participate. Class A is only for small suppliers who do not supply more than 5MW in total, across all classifications of licence exempt supply. This means that we need to check how much other licence exempt supply you have, including Class C (behind the meter or private wire sales of electricity).

Where does the financial benefit come from?

There are a number of levies that are applied to licensed supply volumes and these are priced into consumer electricity bills. These levies pay for a number of subsidy programmes, such as Contracts for Difference and Renewables Obligation among others. These levies are only payable on licensed supplies, meaning licence exempt supplies can be exempted from these levy charges. This exemption creates a financial saving that we can pass on to the generators and consumers in the Club.

Why does the financial benefit vary?

The financial benefit from Class A Licence Exempt Supply varies for two main reasons:

 

  1. The value of the levies charged per MWh is variable. While some of the levies are fixed for a period of time, others such as the CfD levy vary every half-hour. This means there’s no set value per MWh of licence exempt supply.
  2. The volume of licence exempt supply you will have will vary. This depends on how much you generate, and how much the club consumes during that time - how much is matched.
Can I participate in LES with other suppliers too?

As we need to have visibility of your other licence exempt supplies in order to effectively apply the volume limits, we do not recommend this. Please discuss this with us if you have any licence exempt supply arrangements with other suppliers.

Who will I be matched against?

If you have created a Community Power Club, you will be matched first and foremost with any members you have invited into your Club. If you have more generation than consumption in any half-hour, we will top you up. This means matching this surplus generation with existing businesses on Octopus Energy’s supply to help you earn more for your power.

If you don’t want to set up a Community Power Club, but would still like the benefits of licence exempt supply, we can still support you with this. We’ll match you exclusively with existing businesses on Octopus Energy’s supply under their Electric Match Clubs offer.

Would having a Community Power Club mean I’m a supplier?

Sort of, yes! You’d be supplying energy to end consumers through a licence exemption. However, there is still a licensed supplier involved to support this arrangement - Younity are powered by Octopus Energy, who would be the licensed supplier in the arrangement. Octopus Energy meets all the regulatory requirements of the licensed supply, ensuring that even if your community energy project isn’t generating enough electricity to meet the consumer’s demand, the consumer will receive enough electricity to meet their demands.

What are the eligibility requirements for households and businesses that I invite into my club?

It is up to you how you would like to structure your club and who you would like to invite. However, any consumers wishing to join your club will need to meet the minimum eligibility requirements:

 

  1. Households must be on the Co-Op Community Power Tariff or one of Octopus Energy’s Smart tariffs for import and have a smart meter which provides half-hourly data.
  2. Businesses must be with Octopus Energy and be half-hourly metered.
Can schools and businesses become members of my club?

Yes! Provided they meet the minimum eligibility requirements.

How local to my generation site do members of the club have to be?

This is up to you to decide. You don’t have to imply any location eligibility to your Club, but you can do so if you wish to focus the benefits of membership to your Community Power Club on a specific area. There are no location limits to Class A Licence Exempt Supply.

What if I can’t find enough club members to match my generation?

We’ll seek to top up any surplus generation not matched with your invited club members using existing business consumers on Octopus Energy’s supply.

How does a customer join my club?

Once you have created a Community Power Club, we’ll give you a unique invite link that members of your chosen community can use to join your Club. To request to join, they will need to create an Octopus Labs account, accept the Community Power Club T&Cs and send a join request. You can then approve this as the Club Admin if they meet your criteria. Through their Octopus Labs account, they will then be able to access your Club dashboard.

Can I have more than one renewable energy project in my club?

Yes! If you have multiple renewable energy projects, you can put these all in the same club. If you want to separate these out for any reason, and have different clubs for different clusters of projects, that’s possible too.

Can a Community Power Club have more than one community energy organisation?

Yes. You’ll just need to agree between you what types of members you’ll accept into your Club (i.e. if you’re applying any additional eligibility criteria such as location), and who will look after join requests.

Community Smart Export Guarantee

What kind of meter can I register?

You can register a Half-Hourly (HH) meter, a smart meter (with export capability) or a meter with an AMR device, even if it’s Non-Half Hourly (NHH). The meter must be used for both import and export – you cannot register a separate generation meter.

Can I switch to a different SEG or PPA later?

Yes – you're free to leave the CSEG at any time and enter a different SEG tariff or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), with no exit fees.

 

Can I receive CSEG if I'm already receiving Feed in Tariff (FiT) payments?

Yes – you can receive the CSEG alongside FiT generation payments, but not FiT export payments. You must opt out of FiT export to receive the CSEG.

How do you receive export data?
  1. If Octopus Energy supply the import meter, export data is received automatically (sometimes we might require manual readings to be uploaded if the meter has an AMR device - we will let you know if this is the case):

  2. If another supplier provides the import supply, the meter type will determine if we can receive readings automatically.

  • The meter is HH (whether it's smart or not) - we receive automatic readings.

  • The meter is NHH and smart, or the meter has an AMR device, you’ll need to log the meter readings monthly on the Octopus portal (details will be sent to you once you sign up).

If you don't know the meter type of the import meter, please get in touch with the import MPAN and we can determine this for you!

What if the import meter isn’t reconfigured for export?

We will appoint the same Meter Operator (MOP) as your import meter so it can be reconfigured remotely. If the export MOP appointment is rejected, you may need to provide your import MOP contract reference to enable the change.

How long is the contract?

The contract is open-ended – stay on it as long as you like. You can leave at any time with no penalties; just let your Younity account manager know, or email us at together@younity.coop.

How much will I get paid for my exported energy?

We offer a flat rate of 3p/kWh.

What is the capacity limit?

Up to 150kWp per MPAN.

Who is eligible for the Community SEG?

You may be eligible if:

  1. You're a community energy group

  2. Your site has a HH, smart meter or AMR (Automated Meter Reading) meter

  3. Your site is under 150kWp per MPAN

  4. You do not already have an export PPA in place with us or another supplier

How can I sign my site up to receive the CSEG?

Complete this form to begin the process. We'll get in touch with next steps.

How long will the whole process take?
  1. If your site already has an export MPAN, the setup can take as little as 1 week.

  2. If you need a new export MPAN, it may take up to 12 weeks.

Please note: if your import meter needs reconfiguring for export, this could add additional time.