Following recent consultation on changes to the NIRO, the following table sets out current ROC banding levels and those confirmed from 1 April 2013.

NIRO – Existing_and_Confirmed_ROC_per_mwh_levels_from_1_april_2013

Renewables Obligation – Confirmation of Obligation Level for Northern Ireland Suppliers for 2013/14

The Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation, known as the NIRO, is DETI’s main means of increasing renewable electricity generation in Northern Ireland. The NIRO works in tandem with Renewables Obligations covering the rest of the UK. It obliges electricity suppliers to produce a certain number of certificates – known as ROCs – as a proportion of the amount of electricity which they supply to their customers in Northern Ireland.

Alternatively, instead of producing these certificates, suppliers may choose to make a payment to Ofgem (the body which administers the NIRO on behalf of DETI).

Article 12(4) of the Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009 requires the Department to publish the level of a forthcoming Obligation period six months in advance of its commencing. As each new Obligation period runs from 1st April, this means that the announcement in question must be made by the preceding 1st October.

The calculation process set out in articles 5 to 12 of the RO Order has now been completed. In accordance with Article 12(4), the Department can today confirm that the Obligation level for supplies to customers in Northern Ireland for the period running from 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2014 will be 0.097 ROCs per MWh (megawatt hour). The Obligation level for England, Wales and Scotland has been set at 0.206 ROCs/MWh for the same period.

Full details of how the Obligation level is calculated are available on the DECC Website

Obligation Level for 2012/13

The obligation level for suppliers to customers in Northern Ireland for the period running from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 is 0.081 ROCs per MWh (megawatt hour).