Energy

Energy firms found to have misled customers with ads claiming ‘100% green electricity’

Advertising watchdog says ads from several Irish companies saying they offered fully renewable energy were not accurate

Renewable energy: Irish providers can buy certificates from renewable providers overseas to compensate for the fact that Ireland’s grid can’t supply a 100 per cent renewable energy. Picture: Getty

Irish electricity providers that claim to provide 100 per cent “green” energy are misleading their customers because the power they supply includes fossil fuels, the state’s advertising regulator has found in a draft report.

The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) has upheld a complaint made by Lynn Boylan, the Sinn Féin senator, that Energia misled customers with an ad that claimed to offer “100 per cent green energy to your home”.

Several other electricity ...