Smart Export Guarantee Rates 2026: Getting Paid for Solar Export

What the Smart Export Guarantee is, and how it replaced the FiT

The Smart Export Guarantee is an Ofgem-mandated scheme that has run since January 2020. It requires larger licensed energy suppliers to pay households for the surplus electricity they export to the grid from a home solar system. In short, it is the mechanism that makes sure your unused generation earns you money rather than being handed to the grid for free.

The SEG replaced the export element of the old Feed-in Tariff (FiT), which closed to new applicants in March 2019. There is an important difference between the two. Under the FiT, export rates were fixed by government. Under the SEG, each supplier sets its own export rate and can change it, which means the tariff you choose genuinely matters. If you were still on the FiT from an older install you keep it, but any new system today earns through the SEG.

One more design detail is worth knowing: not every supplier is obliged to offer an export tariff. Suppliers with 150,000 or more customers must provide one, while smaller suppliers may choose to. In practice that means the well-known names all offer a route to get paid, and you are free to shop around among them.

SEG rates in 2026: what you can realistically get paid

Because suppliers set their own rates, there is no single national SEG figure. As of 2026, leading export tariffs pay roughly 15p to 27p per kWh, depending on the supplier and whether the rate is fixed or flexible. That is a wide band, so the tariff you sign up to has a real effect on your annual earnings.

It is important to frame these numbers honestly. Suppliers set and change their own rates, so a headline figure quoted today is not a guarantee for the life of your system. The sensible approach is to treat 15p to 27p as the current 2026 range, compare the tariffs open to you at the time you switch, and revisit the market periodically rather than assuming your first choice stays best forever.

As an Octopus Trusted Partner, we are regularly asked how export payments stack up against what you save by using your own power. The honest answer is that for most households, the biggest gain comes from self-consuming your generation, with export income a valuable top-up rather than the main event. We come back to that below.

• ✓SEG rates in 2026 sit roughly in the 15p-27p per kWh range
• ✓Each supplier sets its own rate; the government does not fix it
• ✓Rates can change, so compare tariffs and review periodically
• ✓Export income usually tops up your savings rather than driving them

Fixed vs flexible export tariffs

Export tariffs come in two broad shapes, and the right one depends on how and when your surplus is generated. A fixed export tariff pays the same rate for every unit you export, whatever the time of day. It is simple, predictable, and easy to budget around, which suits a straightforward solar-only home that exports steadily through daylight hours.

A flexible export tariff varies the rate by time of day, typically paying more when grid demand and prices peak, often in the early evening. On paper the peak rates can be at the higher end of the 2026 range, but you only earn that top figure on the units you actually export during the pricey window. That makes flexible tariffs far more rewarding for homes that can control when they export, which in practice means homes with a battery.

Neither is universally better. If you have panels only and export whenever the sun is out, a solid fixed rate is often the more dependable choice. If you have storage and can hold power back to sell into the evening peak, a flexible tariff can earn noticeably more. We help you weigh this up based on your actual setup rather than pushing one model.

How to qualify: MCS certification and a smart export meter

Qualifying for the SEG comes down to two requirements, and a reputable installer handles the harder one for you. First, your system must be installed and certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). Without an MCS certificate you generally cannot claim SEG payments, which is why every install we complete is MCS-certified from day one.

Second, you need a smart or half-hourly export meter so your supplier can measure exactly how much electricity you send back to the grid. Most homes with a modern smart meter already have what is needed; where a suitable meter is missing, your chosen SEG supplier arranges it. You apply for the SEG tariff through the supplier once your system is commissioned, submitting your MCS certificate as proof.

The practical takeaway is that qualifying is not a bureaucratic ordeal. Choose an MCS-certified installer, make sure a smart export meter is in place, then pick your export tariff. From there the payments are calculated automatically from your metered export.

• ✓An MCS-certified install is essential; we provide this on every system
• ✓A smart or half-hourly export meter measures what you send back
• ✓You apply for the SEG tariff through your chosen supplier after commissioning
• ✓Payments are then calculated automatically from metered export

How much a 4kW South Coast system earns from export

The South Coast is one of the UK's better regions for solar, with Solent irradiance of roughly 1,050 to 1,150 kWh per kWp each year. A 4kW south-facing array here generates around 3,900 to 4,600 kWh annually, though an east or west-facing roof produces roughly 15 to 20 per cent less than south.

How much of that you actually export depends on how much you use yourself. A solar-only home typically self-consumes only part of its daytime generation and exports the rest, so a realistic export volume for a 4kW system might be somewhere in the region of 2,000 to 2,900 kWh a year. At a fixed rate around the lower end of the 2026 range, that points to roughly £150 to £400 a year in export income, though the exact figure moves with your tariff and your own usage pattern.

Two honest caveats. First, these are illustrative ranges, not a quote; your roof orientation, shading and household habits all shift the numbers. Second, export income is only half the story, because the electricity you use directly saves you the much higher price you would otherwise pay to import. That is why we model your specific consumption rather than quoting an average, and why maximising self-consumption usually beats chasing the top export rate.

• ✓A 4kW South Coast array generates roughly 3,900-4,600 kWh a year
• ✓East or west-facing roofs generate about 15-20% less than south
• ✓A solar-only home might export around 2,000-2,900 kWh annually
• ✓Illustrative export income: roughly £150-£400 a year, tariff-dependent

How a battery changes the export equation

Adding battery storage shifts the balance between what you export and what you keep. Instead of sending midday surplus to the grid for the export rate, a battery stores it so you can use it in the evening, avoiding the far higher price of importing at peak. For many South Coast homes, a battery lifts self-consumption from around 35 to 40 per cent up towards 70 to 80 per cent, which is where the real bill savings come from.

A battery also unlocks the more rewarding side of flexible export tariffs. Because you can hold power back and choose when to release it, you can export into the early-evening peak when rates are at their highest rather than at midday when the whole neighbourhood is generating. That turns storage into a tool for earning as well as saving.

The trade-off is that a battery raises your up-front cost, so the right decision depends on your usage pattern and how much you value evening independence. We size storage to your actual consumption rather than a sales target, because oversizing wastes money and undersizing leaves savings on the table.

Switching your export tariff independently of import

A point many homeowners miss is that your export supplier does not have to be the same as your import supplier. You can hold your SEG export tariff with one company while buying your electricity from another, which means you are free to pick the best import deal and the best export deal separately rather than settling for whatever one supplier bundles together.

In practice, some households find that staying with a single supplier for both is simplest and comes with a small loyalty uplift on the export rate, while others do better by splitting. There is no universal right answer, only the combination that pays you most for your particular usage. Because SEG rates change, it is worth reviewing both sides of the equation from time to time.

Switching your export tariff is a straightforward application to the new supplier, backed by the same MCS certificate and smart export meter you already have. It does not require any change to your solar system itself, so there is nothing to reinstall or recertify when you move.

Grid connection: G98, G99 and your DNO

Getting paid for export also depends on your system being properly connected to the grid, which is governed by two engineering standards. Systems up to 3.68kW per phase fall under G98, a 'connect and notify' process where we simply notify your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) after the system is commissioned. Larger systems, and anything with battery storage or export, fall under G99, where an application is submitted and approved before the install goes ahead. We file that paperwork for you.

Which DNO you deal with depends on your postcode. SSEN covers Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset and west Surrey, while UK Power Networks (UKPN) covers East and West Sussex and most of Surrey. This is separate from your energy supplier, and it is not something you need to chase yourself, as a proper installer handles the notification or application as part of the job.

The reason this matters for the SEG is that a correctly notified or approved connection is what allows your export to be metered and paid. Get the grid connection right, hold an MCS certificate, add a smart export meter, and your surplus starts earning. If you would like an honest picture of what your roof could generate, export and save, request a free, no-obligation quote and we will model it for your home.