UK Electricity Emission Factor 2026: 0.13096 kg CO2e/kWh

The UK government's greenhouse gas conversion factors for 2026 were published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on 11 June 2026. For most companies reporting UK emissions, the number that matters most is the grid electricity factor, which converts the kWh on an electricity bill into Scope 2 emissions.

The factor and what it is made of

This is the generation factor: emissions from the power stations that supplied the grid. Losses in the wires between the power station and your meter have their own transmission and distribution (T&D) factor in the full set, and the upstream emissions of producing the fuel (well-to-tank) are separate again. Scope 2 under the GHG Protocol uses the generation factor; T&D losses and well-to-tank emissions belong in Scope 3, category 3.

Why the 2026 factor fell so far

Two things lowered it. The grid keeps getting cleaner, and DESNZ changed its method: it now uses electricity generation data that is one year old rather than two, so the factor reflects a more recent, lower-carbon grid. The change also affects the T&D tab and factors built on electricity, including rail, electric vehicles and homeworking.

Which edition to use

DESNZ publishes one set of factors a year. Pick the edition for the period the electricity was used, apply it to the whole period, and state it next to the figure. ZeroCarbon chooses the edition by each record’s activity date: consumption dated in 2025 uses 0.177 and consumption from 1 January 2026 uses 0.13096. Record a bill that spans both years as two entries.

Worked example: a UK office

An office uses 120,000 kWh of grid electricity in 2026. Location-based Scope 2 is 120,000 × 0.13096 = 15,715 kg CO2e, or 15.7 tonnes. The same consumption at the 2025 factor would have been 21,240 kg, so the inventory falls by 5.5 tonnes with no change on site.

Location-based and market-based

• The DESNZ grid factor gives the location-based figure: the average intensity of the grid you draw from.
• The market-based figure uses your own supplier's fuel mix, or renewable certificates such as REGOs, under the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. Report both when you claim green electricity.
• A green tariff does not change the location-based figure. It only changes the market-based one, and only with valid certificates behind it.

ZeroCarbon applies the DESNZ factor for each reading's year, shows the factor, edition and formula on every figure, and keeps the earlier edition for earlier periods, so a restated year keeps its own numbers. For Indian sites, see the CEA grid factor guide.