In 1990 a team of people came together by chance. Over three decades this has transformed into a trusted and experienced team of energy trading experts providing a unique online auction. What has not changed is our commitment to helping suppliers and generators get the best price for their electricity and certificates, and our unwavering support to help navigate the process.
The company NFPA was created by Northern Electric to negotiate with renewable energy generators on behalf of the 12 regional electricity companies in England and Wales, and the first round of NFFOs (Non-Fossil Fuel Obligations) contracts were issued. A small handful of staff were seconded from the Northern Electric to manage the NFPA business, including our very own Mel.
Our now Finance Director, Jason, and IT Director, David, joined NFPA during this period. The team ran NFFO orders on behalf of the government to kickstart renewables in the UK. At this time energy companies had to commit to a certain amount of energy coming from renewable sources and energy developers (generators) participating in NFFO rounds could submit bids to supply electricity from renewable projects. Successful bidders were awarded contracts (often 15 years long) at a fixed price, which was typically higher than the market price for electricity.
At this time the business also moved from Bamburgh house to Portland House in Newcastle.
From 2000 NFFOs started coming to an end for the very early adopters. We adapted our business model to start selling energy on behalf of renewable generators on a commercial basis, continuing to do all of the negotiation and admin for them in dealing with energy suppliers. Edgefield Farm was one of our first contracts and a historic moment for the business.
REGOs (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) were introduced in the UK as part of the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (2001/77/EC). As a way of promoting transparency within the renewable energy market, the REGO system has played a critical role in the growth of the renewable energy market in the UK, as it enables customers to choose energy tariffs that are backed by renewable energy.
In this year we move to the Blue Carpet Higham house
The Renewables Obligation scheme came into force in 2002, a new government subsidy that provided incentives for large-scale renewable electricity in the UK. It required licensed UK electricity suppliers to source a specified proportion of the electricity they provide to customers from eligible renewable sources.
In response we set up the Non Fossil Purchasing Agency Services (NFPAS) to be able to sell ROCs and the birth of our online auction took place.
From this date our auctions increased frequency to twice a month and things really started ramping up.
At this point we started seeing real value of REGOs for our clients and introduced our REGO online auction. At this point the final NFFO contracts came to an end (2018 England and Wales, 2019 in Scotland).
This significant year also saw our management buyout of NFPAS from the holding electricity companies and we became fully independent. The end of an era, the original NFPA was also closed at this point.
New e-POWER headquarters were established in the heart of the North East at Washington Business Centre
We transformed into an Employee-Owned Trust in June 2024. Securing our future and that of our employees, we are proud to be building on the great name of e-POWER and continually moving forward.
Our company is only as great as the people who work here, meet our team members and what they do and believe in at e-POWER.
Washington Business Centre
2 Turbine Way
Sunderland
SR5 3NZ