Feed-in Tariffs (FIT)

This page introduces licenced electricity suppliers' obligations to the FIT scheme.

The Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) scheme requires some electricity suppliers (called ‘FIT Licensees’) to pay fixed tariffs to FIT generators for the electricity their accredited installation generates and exports to the grid.

Large electricity suppliers are obligated to act as FIT Licensees whilst smaller suppliers can choose to become a licensee. FIT Licensees make payments to generators of accredited installations. For more information, see the ‘Becoming a FIT licensee’ section below. 

Regardless of their FIT status, all licensed electricity suppliers are required to participate in some aspects of the FIT scheme, including declaring their ‘FIT status’ annually. They must also report their electricity supply volumes and make payments towards the cost of the scheme each quarter and separately at the end of each scheme year in the levelisation process.

The legal basis of the FIT scheme is laid out in:

• Conditions 33 and 34 of the Standard Conditions of Electricity Supply Licence (“the SLCs”), and 
• The Feed-in Tariffs Order 2012, as amended (“the Order").

You can find the contact details for all FIT licensees on our FIT licensee contact details page.

In a process called ‘periodic levelisation’, scheme costs are met every quarter by all licensed electricity suppliers based on their share of the electricity supply market of Great Britain (GB). Depending on how much a licensee has paid FIT generators for generation and export, they either pay money into or receive money from the levelisation fund. After the end of each FIT year, the ‘annual levelisation’ process reconciles the year’s periodic levelisation and ensures each FIT licensee has paid or received the right amount of money.

All licensed electricity suppliers are required to participate in the levelisation process by: 

• providing us with information to enable us to administer the process, and 
• making levelisation payments as instructed by us. 

You can learn more about levelisation on our Levelisation FAQ page.

FIT status

Only FIT licensees are obligated to pay FIT generators under the scheme. By 14 February of each year all Licensed Electricity Suppliers must notify Ofgem whether they will be a:

• Mandatory FIT licensee, if they have at least 250,000 domestic customers on 31 December of the immediately preceding FIT year. These licensees are obligated to make FIT payments to FIT generators who register with them.
• Voluntary FIT licensee, if they have less than 250,000 domestic electricity customers but choose to make FIT payments to FIT generators who register with them.
• Non-FIT licensee for the FIT year starting on 1 April following the FIT notification by emailing notificationsubmission@ofgem.gov.uk.

Their FIT status will then apply for the duration of the approaching FIT year (1 April – 31 March).

FIT Licensee duties

FIT licensees have specific obligations under the Order and the SLCs. Their duties include:

• Making FIT payments
• Registering FIT generators that switch to them
• Ensuring that the information provided by the FIT generator is accurate
• Updating the Central FIT Register (CFR) as required
• Verifying meter readings provided by FIT generators.

FIT licensees should also have a complaints process in place to deal with any disputes that might arise with generators. 

Central FIT Register

The Central FIT Register (CFR) is a database of all accredited installations.
FIT licensees need to access the CFR to update details of FIT installations and make levelisation submissions.

Access to the Central Fit Register.

If you don’t understand a term being used, please see our glossary