Renewable Electricity - Privacy Notice

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we process your personal information under the Renewable Electricity schemes administered by Ofgem. These are the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme (including the RO in Northern Ireland (NIRO), and RO in Scotland (ROS)), Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme, Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) scheme, Climate Change Levy exemption (CCL) scheme, and Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) scheme, as well as the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) scheme.

It applies to information we process concerning:

  • Renewable Electricity scheme applicants, scheme participants, registered users of the Renewables & Combined Heat and Power (R&CHP) Register and the Central FIT Register (CFR), and other obligated persons.
  • Individuals who contact Ofgem with a query, for example a right of access request, regarding Renewable Electricity schemes.
  • People who sign up to receive the RO newsletter, Fuelling & Sustainability newsletter, CFR newsletter, or R&CHP newsletter.

To find out more information on how Ofgem processes personal data, refer to the Ofgem Umbrella Privacy Notice.

Controller

The controller for the processing of any personal information as outlined in this privacy notice is the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, (GEMA). For ease of reference this privacy notice refers to the administrative office of GEMA, “Ofgem” throughout.

Your information

1. What personal information do we collect?

We will collect information directly from you when:

  • you register as a user or participant on the R&CHP Register or CFR
  • you apply for accreditation under the RO, FIT, REGO, and CCL schemes
  • you contact us with an enquiry relating to the Renewable Electricity schemes
  • you submit periodic data or declarations as per your ongoing obligation under these schemes
  • during any subsequent audit, for example an audit of an accredited generating station.

This information includes:

  • your name
  • the address of the installed generation equipment (which may be your home address)
  • your email address and telephone number
  • the technology of the generating equipment
  • the installed capacity of the generating equipment
  • the date on which the generating equipment was commissioned
  • the specific location of the generating equipment (grid reference)
  • Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN)/Meter Point Registration Number (MPRN) assigned to the meter(s) associated with the generating equipment
  • documentary evidence in support of your application, including (but not limited to) Engineering Recommendation G59 certificates and other relevant certificates, installation and testing records, funding agreements, planning permission statements, schematic diagrams of the generating equipment, and generation records.

We will also collect information directly from you when you sign up to our newsletter(s), or respond to our customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys. We will collect and store your name and email address in order to send these to you, as well as your responses to questions posed relating to our performance in administering the scheme(s). You can request your information be removed from the newsletter distribution list at any time by emailing Renewable@ofgem.gov.uk.

We receive information indirectly when:

  • You have applied for FIT accreditation via a FIT licensee. FIT licensees are obliged to submit installation details to Ofgem via the CFR. This information includes the details listed above, as well as the contact address of the generator and information contained on your MCS installation certificate, if applicable.
  • You have applied for the RO scheme via an Agent or Rent-a-Roof organisation, who collect data from you, and then share this with Ofgem for the purposes of gaining accreditation under the RO scheme.
  • In addition, during regular audits of accredited generators, portfolio operators, agents, installers or Rent-a-Roof organisations, we may receive information indirectly via a third party who we have contracted to undertake auditing work on our behalf. This information may include further documentary evidence relating to the installed generating equipment, including photographs.

2. Why we need to collect and process your information

We only collect information that we need in order to carry out our functions in relation to the Renewable Electricity schemes within our remit. Our primary functions are to:

  • administer the RO, FIT, REGO, CCL, NFFO and OLR schemes
  • ensure any payments or issuance of certificates are timely and accurate
  • verify the eligibility of generating stations and installations applying for accreditation under the schemes
  • verify the volumes of renewable electricity generated by any accredited generating station
  • assign the correct tariff rate or ROC rate applicable to the accredited generating station or FIT installation for which support is claimed
  • monitor electricity supplier performance and compliance with the schemes
  • assist us in the identification of fraud.

Your information is not used:

  • for profiling, ie automated processing of personal data to evaluate certain things about an individual eg direct marketing.

In some cases we use data analytics¹ software to:

  • validate claims made in respect of electricity generated by an accredited generator
  • identify fraud
  • improve the services we provide
  • ensure compliance with RO, FIT, REGO, CCL, NFFO and OLR scheme requirements.

3. How we collect your information

We collect your information if you:

  • visit our website to allow you to make repeat visits. You can find out how we do this through the use of cookies by clicking on the link: here
  • engage with us when we carry out our statutory and administrative functions
  • make enquiries about, and applications to the RO, FIT, REGO, CCL and NFFO schemes
  • submit information and data to us via an online portal, for example the R&CHP Register
  • use our services, for example subscribe to our RSS feeds, e-newsletters, social media sites, email alerts or request a publication from us
  • email, fax, or telephone us, or send information to us in paper format
  • contact us in relation to information requests, complaints and general enquiries.

4. How and when we will disclose your information

We only collect information that we need in order to effectively administer the government’s Renewable Electricity schemes in line with the requirements under legislation and licence conditions, as detailed above. Any data you provide will not be transferred outside the European Community.

We will only disclose your personal information in the following circumstances:

  • where the disclosure is required by law, statutory direction, court orders, or is necessary for the purposes of the administration of the RO, FIT, REGO, CCL, NFFO or OLR schemes
  • where you give us explicit permission to disclose it
  • for the processing and sharing of relevant information during audits.

We will only share your information with the following organisations or official bodies:

  • third-party auditors who audit the information provided to us by you (we will require such third parties to agree to treat the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy)
  • licensed electricity suppliers (including FIT Licensees)
  • Micro-generation Certification Scheme operators (MCS)
  • the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC)
  • Distribution Network Operators (DNOs)
  • Action Fraud in England or Wales or the police in Scotland when we have found instances of suspected fraud
  • The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who has issued a notice that legally compels Ofgem to disclose specified information collected for the purposes of administering the schemes.

5. Legal basis for processing your information

We collect and process your information as part of our remit as the administrator of the RO, FIT, REGO, CCL, NFFO and OLR schemes, as set out in legislation, including the following statutory instruments:

  • The Electricity Act 1989
  • The Renewables Obligation Order 2015
  • The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2009
  • The Renewables Obligation Closure Order 2014
  • The Feed-in Tariffs Order 2012
  • The Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009
  • The Renewables Obligation Closure Order (Northern Ireland) 2015
  • The Electricity from Non-Fossil Fuel Sources Saving Arrangements Order 2000 (as amended)
  • The Electricity from Non-Fossil Fuel Sources (Scotland) Saving Arrangements Order 2005 (as amended)
  • The Climate Change Levy (General) Regulations 2001 (as amended)
  • The Electricity (Guarantees of Origin of Electricity Produced from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations 2003
  • The Power Purchase Agreement Scheme Regulations 2014 (as amended).

We would not be able to fulfil our obligations as the administrator of the RO, FIT, REGO, CCL, NFFO and OLR schemes without collecting and using your information.

We also process your information on the basis of legitimate interest. We use this basis in order to operate our RO, Fuelling & Sustainability, CFR and R&CHP newsletters, where, if you have opted in, we store your name and email address in order to send you updates on the schemes. You are free to unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time, either by emailing us or by clicking on the “unsubscribe” button at the bottom of any newsletter you receive.

6. How long do we keep your information?

Your personal information is deleted when we no longer need it for our functions in administering the RO, FIT, REGO, CCL, NFFO and OLR schemes. As such, it is retained by Ofgem for the duration of the relevant scheme, and for a period of 6 years thereafter.

7. Sharing your information outside the European Union

Any information you provide will not be transferred outside the European Union.

Where we use cloud processing to support our data processing, the servers are located within the European Union.

8. Your rights

To see the full suite of new consumer rights available to you under GDPR, refer to the Ofgem Umbrella Privacy Notice.

You can exercise these rights by contacting our Data Protection Officer, whose contact details are below.

9. How to contact us or make a complaint to us

If you want to exercise any of your rights, request information about our privacy policy, know more about the information we hold about you or make a complaint about how we’ve handled your information, you can email us at dpo@ofgem.gov.uk or write to:

The Data Protection Officer
Ofgem
10 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4PU

You can also contact us to request this notice in an oral format.

10. Complaints to the Information Commissioner

You have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner. If you want to raise a concern about how we have handled your information, you can report it direct to the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Online: Live chat

11. Privacy policy changes

We regularly review our privacy notices. This notice was last updated on 15 May 2018. During this update we made changes to align the wording with the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.

¹ Any data sets processed are sufficiently anonymised to not constitute personal data and are compliant with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Official Statistics (principle 5: confidentiality).