Smart Export Guarantee: how SEG payments work
Who qualifies, what suppliers pay per kWh, how to apply and get paid, how SEG income is taxed, and what happens instead in Northern Ireland.
The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is the rule in Great Britain that makes the larger electricity suppliers offer you a tariff for the solar electricity you send to the grid. Each supplier sets its own rate, which only has to stay above 0p per kWh. On 23 September 2026 the rates we checked on suppliers' own sites ran from 3p per kWh for tariffs open to anyone to 20p for a deal that requires the supplier to install your panels and battery. To be paid you need a certified installation, a meter that records your exports every half hour, and an application to one supplier. The SEG does not apply in Northern Ireland.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Where does it apply? | England, Scotland and Wales. Not Northern Ireland |
| Who has to offer it? | Suppliers with at least 150,000 domestic electricity customers |
| What does it pay? | Whatever the supplier sets, above 0p per kWh. Rates can be fixed or variable |
| What do you need? | MCS or equivalent certification (systems up to 50 kW), a half-hourly export meter and an export MPAN |
| Do you have to switch supplier? | No. The best rates usually need you to buy your electricity from the same supplier, though |
| Is it taxed? | Usually not, for a home system sized for your own use |
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How the Smart Export Guarantee works
The SEG started on 1 January 2020. It followed the Feed-in Tariff, which closed to new applicants from 1 April 2019. Ofgem administers the scheme for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The SEG does not set a price. It obliges certain suppliers, called SEG licensees, to offer at least one export tariff to anyone with an eligible installation. Suppliers with at least 150,000 domestic electricity customers must take part. Smaller suppliers can opt in, and then follow the same rules for that SEG year. Beyond keeping the rate above zero, each licensee chooses its rate, contract length and other terms, and it pays you from your export meter readings.
On 23 September 2026 Ofgem listed twelve mandatory licensees: British Gas, E (Gas and Electricity), E.ON Next, EDF, Foxglove, Fuse, Octopus, OVO, ScottishPower, So Energy, Utilita and Utility Warehouse. Some other suppliers pay for exports without being SEG licensees; their tariffs are private deals that the SEG rules do not cover. Ofgem's SEG supplier list shows who is in the scheme this year.
What you receive is simple arithmetic: the kWh your export meter records, multiplied by your tariff's rate. You are not paid for the solar electricity you use at home, because that saving shows up as a lower electricity bill instead.
Who can get SEG payments
You qualify for a SEG tariff if your installation is in Great Britain and uses solar PV, wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion or micro-CHP, up to 5 MW (50 kW for micro-CHP). For a home solar system, the practical tests are certification and metering.
Before you apply for a SEG tariff
Check each point, and ask your installer for any missing document.
- Certificate. For solar systems up to 50 kW, suppliers ask for an MCS certificate or equivalent certification of both the installation and the installer. Your installer should give you the MCS certificate at handover.
- Export meter. Your exports must be metered by a meter that can record half-hourly readings. In practice this is a smart meter. Octopus, for example, says almost all SMETS2 meters and most SMETS1 meters work.
- Export MPAN. This 13-digit number identifies your export connection. It is different from the import MPAN on your bill. Your SEG supplier arranges it with the network operator.
- Grid paperwork. Keep the network operator's letter or your installer's G98 or G99 connection paperwork. Several suppliers ask for it.
- One export deal only. You can take a SEG tariff from one supplier at a time, and not while you are paid Feed-in Tariff export payments for the same installation.
- Ownership. You should own the system or have the owner's permission to claim for it.
If you rent or live in a flat, the same tests apply. The person who owns the panels, or has the owner's permission, is the one who applies.
How much SEG pays
SEG rates fall into three groups. Rates below are from suppliers' own pages on 23 September 2026 and can change at any time.
- Open to anyone, whoever supplies your electricity: 3p to 6p per kWh. E.ON Next Flex Export paid 6p (variable), So Energy's So Export Flex 4.5p, Octopus's export-only SEG tariff 4.1p (fixed for 12 months), OVO's SEG 4p, and EDF and British Gas 3p.
- For customers who also buy their electricity from the supplier: mostly 12p to 13p. Examples include E.ON Next Export Exclusive at 13p (fixed for 12 months), EDF Export 12m at 13p (fixed for a year), and Octopus Outgoing and British Gas Export Premium at 12p (both variable).
- For customers who bought their system from the supplier: 15p to 20p, usually for the first 12 months only. OVO's SEG Install Exclusive, for example, pays 20p if OVO installs your panels and battery (15p for panels only). Outside the SEG, Good Energy, which is not a SEG licensee, pays 25p on a private deal for 12 months if Good Energy Solar installed your panels and battery, then its standard 12p.
Ofgem's figures show why the tied tariffs matter. In the year to March 2025, tied tariffs offered an average of 14.54p per kWh against 4.39p for untied ones, and 83.8% of installations registered on the SEG at the end of March 2025 were on a tied tariff. Because most people chose the higher tied deals, the average rate actually paid across all installations was 14.04p per kWh. A tied deal pays only if the electricity you buy from that supplier is not much dearer, so compare the pair. Our comparison of export tariffs lists every rate we checked with its conditions and shows how to weigh import price against export rate.
What SEG could pay a typical home
This is an illustrative estimate, not a quote. It assumes a 4 kWp south-facing system at a 35° pitch in London, a household using 2,500 kWh of electricity a year, and no battery.
- Generation. The EU's PVGIS tool gives about 1,019 kWh per kWp a year for that roof in London. 4 kWp × 1,018.88 kWh = about 4,076 kWh a year.
- Used at home. MCS's self-consumption tables put the share used at home at 18%, using the "in half the day" profile that applies when a household's occupancy is unknown. 4,076 kWh × 18% = about 734 kWh.
- Exported. 4,076 − 734 = about 3,342 kWh a year.
- SEG income at different rates:
| Tariff type (rate on 23 September 2026) | Calculation | A year |
|---|---|---|
| 12p, Outgoing Octopus: needs Octopus as your electricity supplier (on a compatible tariff) | 3,342 × £0.12 | £401.04 |
| 6p, E.ON Next Flex Export: keep your current supplier | 3,342 × £0.06 | £200.52 |
| 13p, E.ON Next Export Exclusive: needs E.ON Next as your electricity supplier (not a time-of-use tariff) | 3,342 × £0.13 | £434.46 |
| 3p, lowest open rate we found (EDF, British Gas): keep your current supplier | 3,342 × £0.03 | £100.26 |
The panels also cut your bill. The 734 kWh used at home, valued at the Ofgem price cap unit rate for October to December 2026 (26.32p per kWh, GB average for Direct Debit, no VAT), is worth 734 × £0.2632 = about £193 a year. Your standing charge stays the same. Both figures are before the cost of the system, so they are not a net saving or a payback; see whether solar panels are worth it and what an installation costs.
Two things move this estimate most. A household at home during the day uses more of its own electricity and exports less. A battery also cuts export, because it stores surplus for the evening; the solar battery guide explains when that pays off.
Estimate your own generation and export
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How to apply and get paid
- Gather your documents. Suppliers typically ask for the MCS (or equivalent) certificate, proof of address, the grid connection paperwork, a photo of your meter and, if you have a battery, a wiring (schematic) diagram.
- Choose a tariff and apply to that supplier. You apply to the SEG supplier, not to Ofgem. Your installer may help, but the tariff is in your name.
- Wait for the export MPAN. The supplier asks your network operator to create it. Octopus says this step takes one to four weeks.
- Get paid on readings. With a smart meter the supplier reads exports remotely. How often you are paid depends on the supplier. E.ON Next pays once a year by default and up to four times a year on request. British Gas pays within 28 days of receiving an export reading.
Apply as soon as your system is commissioned. EDF and E.ON Next both say your tariff starts once the export MPAN is registered with them, and Ofgem's guidance says a supplier need not pay until it has your export readings.
Batteries, Feed-in Tariff and plug-in kits
Batteries. Solar electricity exported from your battery counts, and British Gas and Octopus both say they pay for it. Electricity your battery charged from the grid is different. Ofgem's guidance lets a supplier decline to pay SEG on export from a battery charged from a source other than your panels, pay on all of it, or ask for extra metering. If you plan to charge from the grid overnight and export later, check the supplier's terms first.
Feed-in Tariff. If you already get Feed-in Tariff payments, you can opt out of the export part and move your export to a SEG tariff while keeping your generation payments. You cannot be paid for the same export under both schemes. Octopus will not move you to Outgoing Octopus if you started receiving Feed-in Tariff payments in the last 12 months. If you add panels on a separate export meter, E.ON Next says you can keep the Feed-in Tariff on the original system and claim SEG on the new one.
Plug-in solar. Suppliers ask for a certified installation and a certified installer for systems up to 50 kW. A kit you plug in yourself has no installer certificate, so do not count on SEG payments for it; see our plug-in solar guide for what those kits can save.
Is SEG income taxed?
Usually not. The law says an individual pays no income tax on income from selling electricity from a microgeneration system if the system is at or near the home they live in and they do not intend it to generate significantly more than the home uses. A typical home system meets both tests. If your system is at a property you do not live in, or much larger than your household's use, the exemption may not apply; ask HMRC or a tax adviser.
Switching supplier and making a complaint
You can change your SEG supplier, and your import and export suppliers can be different companies. Most of the tariffs we checked have no exit fees. Tied deals have a catch: EDF, for example, moves you to its variable export tariff if you switch your electricity supply elsewhere. Read what happens to the export rate before you change your import supplier.
If something goes wrong, complain to the SEG supplier first. If you have not reached an agreement after eight weeks, you can take the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.
Northern Ireland: no SEG, but you can still be paid
The SEG covers installations in Great Britain only. In Northern Ireland you are paid through a supplier's own export tariff instead.
- The network. NIE Networks connects your system but does not buy your electricity. For a system whose inverter exports no more than 3.68 kW single-phase (under 11.04 kW three-phase), which is the G98/NI limit, your installer sends the commissioning documents within 30 days, and NIE Networks arranges an import/export meter if you do not have one.
- The main export tariff. Power NI paid 9.64p per kWh for exported electricity from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 for generators under 50 kW. The Utility Regulator approves the rate each year, and a new rate applies from 1 October each year, so check Power NI's current rate. You claim by sending a reading from the NIE Networks meter once a year.
- Other suppliers. Ask your own electricity supplier whether it buys exports and on what terms before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Smart Export Guarantee worth signing up for?
Yes, if you export electricity. Without a tariff your exports earn nothing. In the London example above, exports earn about £401 a year at 12p if Octopus supplies your electricity, or about £200 at 6p if you keep your current supplier. The better question is which tariff: compare the export rate together with the price of the electricity you would buy from the same supplier.
Can I get SEG payments without a smart meter?
You need a meter that records exports half-hourly and can be linked to an export MPAN, which in practice means a smart meter. Several suppliers will fit one for their own customers. If your meter cannot be read remotely, ask the supplier how readings will be taken.
Do I have to buy my electricity from my SEG supplier?
No. You can get SEG from one company and electricity from another. But if you did not buy your system from a supplier, the best flat rates we found, 12p to 13p, all require you to buy your electricity from the same supplier.
Can I get the Smart Export Guarantee in Northern Ireland?
No. The SEG applies only in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, suppliers such as Power NI pay for exports under their own tariffs.