A new initiative from Ofgem to show customers which are the greenest energy deals will help the public make informed decisions, it has been said.

Claire Gibson, senior press officer for the Energy Retail Association, believes it will equip them with more knowledge to compare the best utility deals on the market.

The scheme provides a Green Energy Certified label to any electricity supplier that demonstrates to an independent panel of experts that it provides a reduction on a minimum threshold of carbon emissions.

Suppliers must prove that it is already going above and beyond what it is already doing to make a positive impact on the environment.

Ms Gibson stressed: "We can't predict how our members or other suppliers will respond in terms of pricing.

"What the scheme does do is allow suppliers to innovate and produce different kinds of tariff and innovation is always a great driver of competition."

As a result, she believes people will see more products coming to market and a number of tariffs which appeal to a variety of different price ranges.

This, in turn, should encourage the uptake of more eco-friendly tariffs, the expert predicted.

"[Green energy] is still a very new marketplace and what the new guidelines and the accreditation scheme has provided is just a bit more clarity for suppliers and for customers about what is classed as a green tariff and what isn't," she suggested.

Energy companies are already required to source 9.1 per cent of the electricity supplied to customers in England, Wales and Scotland from renewable sources.

Meanwhile, three per cent of electricity supplied to customers in Northern Ireland must be from renewables, while all companies are subject to paying a buy-out clause of £35.76 per megawatt hour for any shortfall.