Image: Ofgem.
Ofgem is issuing a final call for information on “dormant” feed-in tariff (FiT) installations still awaiting accreditation.
The FiT closed in March, but assets that applied before the cut off are still eligible for payments under the scheme.
Installations that applied for accreditation or pre-registration before the scheme was shuttered are required to provide information that the regulator “deems necessary” to access the application and demonstrate the asset has been commissioned before it can be granted accreditation.
There are a “significant” number of applications it considers to be dormant, whereby generators haven’t responded to requests for information. Without this information, the applications are unable to progress, Ofgem said.
The regulator will adopt a minded to refuse approach to deal with the remaining dormant applications. Where it considers that the further information is necessary for the purpose of determining eligibility in respect of a dormant application, it will now issue a final request for information.
Any applicable deadlines will be clearly specified in the requests for further information. If this information is not provided within the period, the application may be rejected, Ofgem said.
In the first month since the closure of the FiT, residential solar installations fell to 3.6MW, and there has been fierce criticism of the policy gap left between the FiT and its replacement, the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), set to come into effect on 1 January 2020.
Under the SEG, all suppliers with over 150,000 domestic customers must offer an export tariff, with no minimum floor price except a requirement for the tariff to be above zero.
As is stands, of those required to launch an export tariff, only Octopus Energy has one – or in its case, two – up and running.