What is the Smart Export Guarantee?

What is the SEG?

The Smart Export Guarantee launched on 1 January 2020 as the replacement for the Feed-in Tariff (FiT), which closed to new applicants on 31 March 2019. Under the Smart Export Guarantee Order 2019, all licensed electricity suppliers with 150,000+ domestic customers must offer payment to small-scale low-carbon generators for electricity exported to the National Grid. Suppliers below that threshold can voluntarily opt in.

The critical difference versus the old FiT: SEG pays only for actual metered export (not deemed export), there is no generation payment at all, and rates are set by suppliers competitively rather than mandated by government. This means the rate you get depends entirely on which supplier you choose — and the spread is enormous.

Current SEG rates: the full picture

Rates as of mid-2026, verified against supplier websites and Ofgem's SEG licensee register:

- **Octopus Outgoing Fixed: 15.0p/kWh** — Best fixed rate from a major supplier available to anyone. 12-month contract.

- **Octopus Outgoing Agile: Variable (typically 8–25p)** — Half-hourly pricing based on wholesale costs. Higher potential but more volatile.

- **Octopus Outgoing Flux: Time-banded (4p–30p+)** — Three daily bands. Peak export window (16:00–19:00) pays up to 30p+. Designed for solar+battery systems.

- **E.ON Next Export: 16.5p/kWh** — Highest fixed rate currently, BUT only for E.ON electricity customers. Non-customers: just 3.0p/kWh.

- **British Gas Export & Earn: 15.0p/kWh** — Matched to Octopus. Only available if you also buy electricity from British Gas.

- **Good Energy SEG: 10.0p/kWh** — Available to anyone regardless of import supplier. Supports independent generators.

- **So Energy So Export: 7.5p/kWh** — For So Energy customers.

- **EDF Export+Earn: 5.6p/kWh** — Only for EDF supply customers.

- **Utility Warehouse Export: 5.6p/kWh** — For UW customers.

- **Scottish Power SmartGen: 5.5p/kWh** — Must be SP supply customer.

- **OVO SEG: 4.0p/kWh** — Only for OVO supply customers.

- **Utilita Smart Export: 0.5p/kWh** — Barely above the legal zero-floor.

The 33x gap between Utilita at 0.5p and E.ON at 16.5p makes supplier selection arguably the single most important financial decision for any solar owner. For a household exporting 2,000 kWh/year, that's the difference between £10 and £330 in annual SEG income.

Annual SEG earnings: worked examples

For a typical 4kWp south-facing system generating 3,400 kWh/year with 35% self-consumption (no battery), exporting approximately 2,000 kWh:

- Octopus/E.ON/BG at 15–16.5p: £300–330/year.

- Good Energy at 10p: £200/year.

- EDF/UW/SP at 5.5–5.6p: £110–112/year.

- Utilita at 0.5p: £10/year.

Add a 5kWh battery and self-consumption rises to ~75%. Export drops to ~700 kWh/year but bill savings from self-consumption increase by £325–450/year. The total financial benefit is substantially larger even though SEG income decreases.

Requirements for eligibility

- **MCS certification is mandatory:** Your installation must use an MCS-certified installer and MCS-approved equipment. This is legally required under the SEG Order. Without it, no supplier is obligated to pay you.

- **Smart meter with export reading:** You need a SMETS1 or SMETS2 smart meter capable of recording half-hourly export data. If you have an older meter, your supplier will usually install one free of charge. The meter must be commissioned and communicating.

- **SEG contract is separate from import:** You apply for SEG after your solar system is commissioned, not during purchase. Most SEG contracts are 12 months rolling. You can switch SEG supplier independently of your import supplier (though many offer better rates if you bundle).

- **System size limits:** SEG covers installations up to 5MW total capacity (comfortably covering all residential and most commercial rooftop installations).

SEG vs FiT: what changed

Under the Feed-in Tariff, a 4kWp system installed in 2015 could earn approximately £500–600/year through the generation tariff (paid on all electricity generated, not just exported) plus a deemed 50% export payment. The FiT was guaranteed for 20 years and index-linked to RPI.

Under SEG, the same system earns only on actual metered export — roughly £200–330/year at best available rates. The FiT was dramatically more generous. But panels were also significantly more expensive in 2015 (£7,000–9,000 for 4kWp vs £5,000–6,500 today). The net result: payback periods today (8–10 years) are actually similar to or better than they were under the FiT, despite lower subsidy, because installation costs have fallen approximately 35%.

Maximising your SEG strategy

1. Choose your supplier based on export rate, not habit. If you currently import from British Gas at 24p/kWh, you can export via Octopus at 15p/kWh — different suppliers for import and export is perfectly legal.

2. Pair SEG with a time-of-use import tariff for the battery arbitrage described earlier. The combination of cheap overnight import + high self-consumption + competitive SEG creates three revenue/cost-saving streams instead of one.

3. Consider an export-only optimised tariff like Octopus Flux if you have a battery. The time-banded export rates (28p+/kWh during the premium 16:00–19:00 window) can outperform a flat 15p SEG if your battery is large enough to time-shift exports.

4. Monitor export meter readings monthly. If your smart meter stops communicating (a known issue with some SMETS1 meters), SEG payments may stop. Contact your supplier immediately if this occurs.