An amendment to the Energy Bill was tabled when the Bill was with the Lords, which would have required the two separate buy-out funds from the Renewables Obligation and the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) to be merged prior to being recycled back to suppliers.
The fact that there are two funds means that the value of Scottish ROCs can be different from (England and Wales) ROCs. Indeed it was different in the first Obligation Period.
The RPA believes this is unhelpful for the Renewables Industry, and has been lobbying for the end to this situation.
The Government rejected the amendment when the Energy Bill was in the Lords, but said that the issue was important and they would review it as part of the 2005-6 review of the RO.
The RPA subsequently wrote the attached letter, signed up to by all the major supply companies.
As a result the DTI has agreed to legislate by April 2005, if possible.
See the attached response from DTI.
The RPA is still working on this, seeking clarification as to when the changes can have effect.