Best SEG tariffs: export rates compared (2026)

You can earn 13p per kWh for exported solar electricity without changing your electricity supplier: Fuse Energy's Single Rate Variable Export accepts eligible export-only customers. That is the highest untied flat rate in this comparison; it is variable and reviewed quarterly. If you also buy your electricity from the supplier, 13p is available from E.ON Next and EDF, both fixed for a year. SEG deals for people who buy their system from the supplier pay 15p to 20p, usually for the first year only; Good Energy, which is not a SEG licensee, pays 25p on a private deal outside the SEG. These tariffs cover Great Britain only; Northern Ireland has its own arrangements, described at the end.

All rates below come from each supplier's own website. Export rates change often, so confirm the rate and conditions on the supplier's site before you switch. To understand how the scheme works, start with our Smart Export Guarantee guide.

If you have a battery and can export in the early evening, time-of-use export can pay more, but it is not a flat rate. Octopus Flux, which needs both your import and export on Flux, paid 27.17p to 30.68p per kWh from 4pm to 7pm in September 2026, 9.55p to 10.54p at most other times and 4.19p to 5.24p from 2am to 5am, depending on region. Its import price is time-banded too; the time-of-use section below has the details.

Export tariffs open to anyone

These pay you whoever supplies your electricity, so you can keep an import deal you are happy with. Fuse's variable 13p matches the highest tied flat rate in the next table, although those 13p offers fix the rate for a year.

Tariffs that need your electricity supply

These require you to buy your electricity from the same company. Compare the import price and standing charge as well as the export rate; a fixed export rate can also be useful if you value certainty over its term.

Tariffs for systems bought from the supplier

These are the highest flat rates, but you only get them by buying your installation from the supplier or its installer. Compare the full system price first: a high export rate for a year does not make up for an expensive quote. Our solar panel cost guide shows what installations typically cost.

Most of these deals come with a battery, and a battery reduces how much you export, because it keeps surplus for your evening use. A high rate on fewer exported kWh can earn less than you expect. The solar battery guide explains that trade-off.

Time-of-use export tariffs

Time-of-use export pays more when the grid needs power most, usually 4pm to 7pm. Panels alone export little at that time, especially in winter, so these tariffs suit homes with a battery that can discharge in the evening.

• Octopus Prime Outgoing: 16p per kWh from 4pm to 7pm and 9p the rest of the day. It is a 12-month fixed-term tariff with no exit fees, for Octopus electricity customers on a compatible import tariff.
• Octopus Agile Outgoing: a different price every half hour, following day-ahead wholesale prices with no cap. It is a 12-month fixed-term tariff with a fixed pricing formula and no exit fees.
• Octopus Flux: needs solar panels, a home battery, a half-hourly smart meter, an MCS document, and both your import and export with Octopus on Flux. In September 2026 its export rates, which vary by region, were 27.17p to 30.68p from 4pm to 7pm, 4.19p to 5.24p from 2am to 5am, and 9.55p to 10.54p at other times. In London they were 28.60p, 5.24p and 9.80p. Your import price is time-banded too, so compare both sides for your region on Octopus's site.
• Intelligent Octopus Flux: closed to new customers, except those who bought solar panels and a battery from Octopus.

How to choose: compare import and export together

A tied export tariff pays only if the electricity you must buy alongside it is not much dearer. Work out both sides with your own numbers.

Worked example (illustrative, not a quote). Take a 4 kWp south-facing system in London, a household using 2,500 kWh a year, no battery, and MCS's default self-consumption table. As shown in our SEG guide, that home generates about 4,076 kWh, uses about 734 kWh itself and exports about 3,342 kWh a year.

1. Export income while keeping your supplier: 3,342 kWh × 13p = £434.46 a year at Fuse's current variable rate, subject to eligibility.
2. Export income on a tied tariff: 3,342 kWh × 12p = £401.04 a year (Outgoing Octopus, which needs Octopus as your electricity supplier on a compatible tariff).
3. Export difference: £434.46 − £401.04 = £33.42 more from Fuse at these rates.
4. Electricity still bought from the grid: 2,500 − 734 = 1,766 kWh a year.
5. Import-price difference: every 1p per kWh changes the cost of 1,766 kWh by £17.66 a year; every 1p per day on the standing charge changes it by £3.65 a year.
6. Break-even: £33.42 ÷ £17.66 = about 1.9p per kWh. With equal standing charges, Octopus's import rate would need to be about 1.9p cheaper to offset its lower export payment in this example.

E.ON Next Export Exclusive and EDF Export 12m also pay 13p, so their first-year export income would be the same £434.46 at these rates. Their 12-month fixes differ from Fuse's variable offer. If you currently export at E.ON Next Flex Export's 6p, moving to an eligible 13p offer adds £233.94 a year on these exports; changing your import supplier is not the only way to obtain that rate.

The same test works for any pair of tariffs. It changes most with how much you export: a household that uses more of its own solar, or adds a battery, gains less from a higher export rate.

The example below compares the calculator's 12p and 6p export scenarios for a 2,500 kWh household with a battery. Those are named tariff examples: keeping your supplier can also qualify for Fuse's 13p. Payback uses a 4% yearly rise in the import electricity price, an assumption you can change in the full calculator; export rates stay flat. Change the yearly use to see how export affects the result.

Fixed or variable?

A fixed rate is locked for its term, usually 12 months; at the end you move to whatever the supplier then offers. A variable rate can change at any time, with notice. Most tariffs in these tables have no exit fees, so you can move if a better deal appears.

Other checks before you switch:

• System size limits. E.ON's and British Gas's best rates stop at 15 kW, OVO's at 30 kW and EDF's at 50 kW.
• Battery charging from the grid. Ofgem's guidance lets a supplier refuse SEG on export from a battery charged from the grid. If you plan to charge overnight and export later, check the supplier's terms.
• When payment starts. EDF and E.ON Next start your tariff once your export MPAN is registered with them, so apply as soon as your system is commissioned.

What Ofgem's figures show

Ofgem's latest SEG report, for April 2024 to March 2025, shows how the market worked in that period, before the current offers above. Tied tariffs offered an average of 14.54p per kWh against 4.39p for untied ones, and 76.2% of the electricity exported under the SEG was on tied tariffs. Suppliers paid £56.97 million for 443.1 GWh of exports, which works out at about 12.9p per kWh on average (£56.97 million ÷ 443.1 million kWh = £0.1286 per kWh; our calculation, not an Ofgem figure). Ofgem's own published figure is higher, an average rate of 14.04p per kWh paid across installations, because it averages each installation's tariff rate, while our figure weights each rate by how much was exported. Ofgem's own conclusion is that consumers "must actively compare options".

How we compiled this comparison

• Source: each rate and condition comes from the supplier's own website. We do not use rates from comparison sites.
• Grouping: tariffs are grouped by what you must do to get them (nothing, switch your electricity, buy a system), then ordered by rate. We do not rank across groups, because the conditions differ.
• Basis: rates are pence per exported kWh as each supplier states them. Suppliers' import prices are not included, because they vary by region and payment method; use the worked example above to compare them.
• Not included: other suppliers, including ScottishPower, Utility Warehouse and Utilita, and tariffs whose conditions the supplier's page does not state. Their absence does not mean their rates are worse.
• Independence: no supplier paid to be included or for its position, and Solar Report has no commercial relationship with any supplier listed.

Northern Ireland

Frequently asked questions

Who pays the best SEG rate?

Among the offers compared here, Fuse pays the highest untied flat rate at 13p, variable and open to eligible export-only customers. E.ON Next Export Exclusive and EDF Export 12m also pay 13p, fixed for a year, but require their electricity supply. The highest SEG rate in our comparison is OVO's 20p for systems OVO installs with a battery. Good Energy pays 25p, but on a private deal outside the SEG (Good Energy is not a SEG licensee) that needs panels and a battery installed by Good Energy Solar and lasts 12 months.

Can I get my export tariff from a different supplier to my electricity?

Yes. Fuse Single Rate Variable Export pays 13p to eligible customers without requiring Fuse electricity supply. E.ON Next Flex Export is another untied option at 6p. Both are variable; check certification, metering and connection requirements before applying.

Is it worth switching electricity supplier for a better export rate?

Compare the whole bill. In our London example, Fuse's untied 13p pays about £33 more a year than Octopus's tied 12p. With the same standing charge, Octopus would need to make the electricity still bought from the grid about 1.9p/kWh cheaper to make up the difference. Your exports, import rate and tariff eligibility decide the result.