The law on energy transition of 17 August 2015 promotes the development of renewables. With this in mind, public authorities are putting in place mechanisms to change the ways in which energy is produced and consumed.

Promoted, so-called “green” electricity offers mainly occupy the market currently. On the other hand, among the 70% of offers of this type offered by suppliers, many do not respect the concept of green electricity, according to ADEME (Agency for the Environment and Energy Management).

The organization announced the appearance of VertVolt label on October 22, 2021, on World Energy Day. SirEnergies presents this new label to you.

VertVolt label: to question the guarantee of origin

The VertVolt label arrived as A thunderclap on the electricity market. It is established in order to clean up the world of energy suppliers.

The proof is that guarantees of origin, long used as references, are being questioned. As a reminder, in energy jargon in France, a guarantee of origin (GO) Is a scrip which attests to the origin of renewable energy production. It is supposed to prove that, for the consumption of 1 MWh of energy by the customer of a green electricity supply, the supplier injects 1 MWh of renewable energy into the electrical network.

The GO is issued by the EEX (European Energy Exchange), which is a market for the exchange of energy goods. The reality is that it is simply sold at auction on this market. In other words, any supplier with a thick portfolio could boast of offer green electricity offers without ever having purchased and supplied a single megawatt hour of renewable energy.

By implementing the VertVolt label, Ademe is discouraging suppliers who evade the rules. With this new label, the time when guarantees of origin were used for greenwashing is over.

The obligation to provide incentives to control energy

With the VertVolt label, suppliers must meet certain obligations such as encouraging energy management. They are required to take measures and carry out actions to make consumers aware of how to optimize their electricity consumption.

For example, they can give their customers tips for consuming less energy, invite them to activate the consumption monitoring curve at the level of Linky counter, etc.

The concept of joint purchasing with the VertVolt label

Joint purchasing is a new concept that is congenital to the VertVolt label. This indicates that the labelled supplier purchased both its green electricity and the GO, which proves it from the same producer present in France.

This requirement, which suppliers of green offers must respect, allows Ademe to ensure that they participate actively in the ecological transition. This also favors the development of the activity of renewable energy producers. Joint purchasing can be strict or expanded.

The two levels of certification

In order to encourage suppliers to genuinely offer green electricity offers, VertVolt was cleverly developed and awarded according to two levels of certification.

Level 1: committed

VertVolt's first certification level corresponds to the Premium category in which Ademe classified certain green offers. It proves that the certified supplier jointly purchased electricity and GOs from the same renewable energy producers (strict joint purchase). The purchase can also be made from facilities located in the same region and using the same technology (extended joint purchase).

Level 2: very committed

Level 2 of VertVolt's certification attests that the supplier is very committed to the production and consumption of clean energy. To have the VertVolt Level 2 label, the supplier must meet the Level 1 condition. In addition, 25% of the electricity it provides must come from a recent installation, not supported by the State and/or subject to shared governance.

Ademe ensures Distinguish 100% committed or highly committed offers from others. So we now have committed offers on the market, offers committed without nuclear power, very committed and very committed offers without nuclear power.

Source: ADEME

VertVolt label: more transparency in offers

The VertVolt label will make it easier for you if you decide to choose a green electricity offer. In order to help consumers make informed choices, Ademe requires suppliers to give the origin of the electricity supplied. Suppliers must also indicate the proportion of energy purchased from producers who do not benefit from state support or shared governance.

If part of their offer comes from Nuclear energy, they are also required to specify it. Suppliers are also called upon to donate statistics on customers of VertVolt labelled offers, on monitoring consumption on the Linky meter, etc. To make the best choice, compare several offers. Are you unsure how to do it? Simply call on SirEnergies to help you.