UK grid electricity: carbon footprint per kWh
Live factor value
0.13096 kgCO2e per kWh
Source: UK DESNZ greenhouse-gas conversion factors, 2026 (revision 2). Factor set desnz-2026-r2.
The carbon footprint of UK grid electricity is published every year by the UK government in the DESNZ greenhouse-gas conversion factors; the 2026 value shown below is the official generation factor for a kWh of average UK grid electricity. It is the number UK organisations are expected to use for location-based electricity reporting.
The UK grid factor has fallen steeply over the past decade as coal left the system and wind and solar grew — it is now well under half of what it was in the mid-2010s. Because the factor changes annually, BlocCarbon stores factors in versioned sets and every calculation records exactly which set produced it.
Worked example
A typical UK household's annual electricity (~2,700 kWh): 2,700 × 0.13096 = 354 kgCO2e.
Measure your own with the free home energy calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the UK electricity emission factor for 2026?
- 0.13096 kgCO2e per kWh (generation, UK grid average) in the DESNZ 2026 conversion factors, flat file revised 31 July 2026.
- Why does the UK electricity factor change every year?
- It reflects the actual generation mix of the grid, which shifts as renewables grow and fossil generation retires. DESNZ republishes the factor each June, which is why versioned factor sets matter for comparable reporting.