Five of the big six energy suppliers in the UK are reported to have dropped their plans to provide green tariffs for new customers.

Npower revealed earlier in July 2013 that its domestic green electricity tariff will be scrapped for new customers.

EDF, E.ON, SSE and Scottish Power are currently not providing domestic green tariffs.

The Guardian reported that the suppliers that have dropped the tariffs said they have made the changes as part of a review of their products, in view of low levels of interest from customers, and are planning to offer alternatives.

"The suppliers that have dropped the tariffs said they have made the changes as part of a review of their products, in view of low levels of interest from customers, and are planning to offer alternatives."

Good Energy head of external affairs Ed Gill was quoted by The Guardian as saying that the development was very disappointing.

Gill said: "This is not in the interests of consumers, or the UK more widely. We need to be calling for the big six – who sell some 90% of all electricity – to take responsibility for offering consumers a green tariff if we are to meet our UK targets and address energy and climate change issues.

"We are all for competition in this market place. But when the government called on energy providers to simplify their tariffs, this was presumably not what they had in mind."

A UK Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman told the newspaper that "We’re making bills easier to understand, cutting the confusing array of tariffs currently on offer, and getting people off poor-value dead tariffs. A number of green tariffs remain on offer for consumers who wish to choose them, including many with smaller suppliers outside of the big six."

"Our reforms to the electricity market will mean increasingly far more of the power consumers use will come from green energy sources." the spokesman added.

Energy