As some of you may have heard the Appeal Court announced their ruling on Wednesday, coming down against the Government. DECC have however as expected announced their intention to seek to appeal to the Supreme Court, a process which could take up to a year to complete.
So what does this mean?
-
DECC have issued a statement making it clear that in their view the lower rates could still apply to installations from the 12th December onwards and consumers should be advised of that.
-
DECC are enacting legislation that will enforce their new lower rates as of the 3rd March, irrespective of the outcome of the court process.
-
DECC have published a briefing document giving full details of their position.
-
Nobody can say with any certainty what the outcome of the Supreme Court process will be, but for < 4kWp systems the minimum tariff that consumers installing in this period will receive is 21p. If the Government's appeal is unsuccessful, or should they decide to withdraw it, consumers will receive 43.3p.
- The numerous press reports, web site postings and industry bulletins that were published on Wednesday stating beyond doubt that the rate is now 43p were clearly premature as nothing actually changed as a result of the Appeal Court ruling, except that the uncertainty was extended and placed in the hands of the Supreme Court.