What is the Smart Export Guarantee?

A rule, in place since 1 January 2020, that makes larger electricity suppliers in Great Britain offer a tariff paying households for electricity they export from small renewable installations such as solar panels. Each supplier sets its own rate, and it must always be above zero.

Which suppliers have to pay me for exported electricity?

Suppliers with at least 150,000 domestic customers must offer at least one SEG tariff. Smaller suppliers can choose to. You don't have to buy your electricity from the same supplier, but many of the better export rates are only open to their own import customers.

How much does the Smart Export Guarantee pay?

Whatever the supplier chooses, as long as it's above zero. Ofgem's report for April 2024 to March 2025 found an average offered rate of 10.8p per kWh across 50 tariffs. Octopus alone shows the spread, with 4.1p on its basic SEG tariff and 12p on Outgoing Octopus.

Do I need MCS certification to get SEG payments?

For solar panels, yes, or an equivalent scheme such as Flexi-Orb. Without it you can still use your own solar power, but suppliers don't have to pay you for what you export.

Does the Smart Export Guarantee apply in Northern Ireland?

No. It covers Great Britain only. In Northern Ireland any payment for exported power is at your supplier's discretion.

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Explained: Who Pays What for Your Solar

Last reviewed 25 September 2026. Figures and schemes change — verify with an MCS-certified installer before you commit.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) makes the larger electricity suppliers in Great Britain pay you for solar power you send to the grid, but it doesn't say how much. Each supplier sets its own rate, and the only rule is that it must be above zero. Rates vary widely, so the export tariff you pick can matter almost as much as the panels themselves.

What the Smart Export Guarantee is

The SEG started on 1 January 2020. It filled the gap left when the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants in 2019. Under the Feed-in Tariff the government set the payment. Under the SEG the market does.

Who has to offer it: every supplier with at least 150,000 domestic customers must offer at least one SEG tariff. Smaller suppliers can choose to.
What it pays for: each kWh you export, measured by your meter. That means you need a smart meter (or another meter that records export), because estimated export doesn't count.
What qualifies: small-scale solar PV, wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion up to 5 MW, and micro combined heat and power up to 50 kW. For home solar, the installation must be certified under MCS or an equivalent scheme such as Flexi-Orb. See our MCS certification guide for what that involves.
Where it applies: Great Britain only. There's no guaranteed export tariff in Northern Ireland.

Ofgem runs the scheme and publishes an annual report. In its report for April 2024 to March 2025, 270,395 installations were registered to a SEG tariff, and 50 tariffs were on offer from 11 suppliers. The average offered rate was 10.8p per kWh, up from 3.15p in the scheme's first year.

Why rates differ so much between suppliers

The law sets a floor, not a price, so suppliers compete on export rates, or don't. The 50 tariffs in Ofgem's report fall into two kinds:

Open to anyone (21 tariffs). You can sign up wherever you buy your electricity. These tend to pay less.
With conditions (29 tariffs). Usually you must also buy your electricity from that supplier, or the rate is tied to kit they installed. The better rates are mostly here.

Octopus Energy shows the spread within a single supplier:

Current rates for Octopus's basic SEG tariff (export-only customers), from Octopus's published tariff data: 4.1p per kWh exported. The same in all 14 of Octopus's regions, checked 27 September 2026.

Current rates for Outgoing Octopus, from Octopus's published tariff data: 12.0p per kWh exported. The same in all 14 of Octopus's regions, checked 27 September 2026.

Outgoing Octopus paid 15p per kWh until 1 March 2026, when it dropped to 12p. Export rates move, so check the current rate before you commit.

What the rate is worth on a real roof

Using the calculator's reference household (the one behind our county pages), a 4 kWp system in Leicestershire makes about 4,000 kWh a year and exports about 3,030 kWh of it. At Octopus's rates:

12p per kWh (Outgoing): about £364 a year.
4.1p per kWh (basic SEG): about £124 a year.

That's a difference of about £240 a year from the same panels, just from picking a different export tariff with the same supplier. Over the life of a system it adds up to thousands of pounds.

Exporting isn't always the best use of your solar

The export rate also decides whether to use surplus solar yourself instead: for example, heating water with an immersion diverter, charging a battery or charging an EV. The rule of thumb is simple. Divert a kWh when it saves more than your export rate pays for it. On a 4.1p export rate, almost any use of your own power beats exporting. On a 12p rate, replacing gas heat that costs about 10p per kWh (8.4p gas through an 85%-efficient boiler, as the calculator assumes) doesn't beat exporting, but replacing grid electricity at 25p or more does. Our diverter vs export comparison and the diversion method guide work through the numbers.

How to choose an export tariff

Check what your installation is certified under. No MCS (or equivalent) certificate, no guaranteed SEG payments.
Compare the conditions, not just the headline rate. A high export rate that requires you to switch your electricity supply only pays off if that supplier's import tariff suits you too.
Check whether the rate is fixed or variable, and for how long.
Ask about batteries if you have one. The export supplier decides what certification a battery needs, and whether it'll pay for electricity you stored from the grid and export later.
Put your real export rate into the calculator. The payback on solar is sensitive to it, especially with a small household that exports most of what it generates.