What is the Smart Export Guarantee and how do you get paid?

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a scheme in Great Britain under which an electricity supplier pays you for the electricity your solar panels send to the grid. Larger suppliers must offer at least one SEG tariff. You choose a supplier and apply to them, using your MCS certificate and a meter that records your exports every half hour. Each supplier sets its own rate and terms, but the rate must always be above zero.

• The SEG started on 1 January 2020, after the Feed-in Tariff scheme closed to new applicants on 31 March 2019 (Ofgem SEG guidance for generators).
• Suppliers with at least 150,000 domestic electricity customers on 31 December of the previous year must offer a SEG tariff. Smaller suppliers can choose to (Ofgem).
• Ofgem's list for the SEG year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 names 12 mandatory and 4 voluntary SEG suppliers (Ofgem SEG supplier list).
• For solar PV up to 50kW, both the installation and the installer must be certified, for example through MCS (Ofgem guidance, paras 1.12 to 1.16).
• Exports must be measured by a meter capable of half-hourly readings, with an export MPAN (Ofgem guidance, paras 1.17 and 1.22).
• The supplier decides the rate, type and length of its tariff, but it must be more than 0p per kWh at all times (Ofgem guidance, para 1.3).

Who has to offer the Smart Export Guarantee?

Ofgem calls suppliers that offer the SEG "SEG licensees". A supplier with at least 150,000 domestic electricity customers on 31 December of the previous year is a mandatory SEG licensee and must offer at least one SEG tariff to eligible generators. Smaller suppliers can join as voluntary licensees for a whole SEG year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Ofgem publishes the current list each year. The list for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 names 12 mandatory and 4 voluntary licensees.

Am I eligible?

According to Ofgem and its guidance for generators, a home solar system can get a SEG tariff if:

• it's in Great Britain (England, Scotland or Wales);
• it's solar PV (the scheme also covers wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion and micro-CHP), with a total capacity of up to 5MW;
• for systems up to 50kW, you can show the installation and installer are suitably certified, for example with an MCS certificate;
• it has an export meter capable of half-hourly readings and an export MPAN;
• you're not receiving export payments under the Feed-in Tariff scheme. If you only get Feed-in Tariff generation payments (having opted out of FiT export payments), you can still get a SEG tariff.

If a system up to 50kW isn't suitably certified, a supplier doesn't have to pay you under the SEG, although it can choose to.

What do I need to apply?

Your MCS certificate

MCS describes the certificate as proof that the installation was designed, installed and commissioned to industry standards, using MCS certified products and an MCS certified installer. MCS says installers should issue it within 10 days of commissioning. If you lose it, your original installer is the first place to ask for a copy. We're an MCS certified installer (certification no. NIC200098) and we handle the MCS certification for every system we fit.

A meter that records exports

GOV.UK says you need a meter capable of half-hourly export readings, which would typically be a smart meter. Ofgem's guidance says your existing meter may already do this, so ask your chosen supplier. If the meter can be read remotely, you won't need to send in manual readings.

An export MPAN

An MPAN is the 13-digit number that identifies an electricity connection point. Your import MPAN is on your electricity bill. Your export MPAN is different, and Ofgem says your SEG supplier can provide it.

How do I sign up?

1. Compare SEG tariffs from the suppliers on Ofgem's list. Ofgem encourages you to shop around and to keep reviewing your options.
2. Apply through the supplier's own process, which it publishes on its website.
3. The supplier checks your eligibility and, if you qualify, confirms the terms in writing. That written confirmation is your SEG contract.

Your SEG supplier doesn't have to be the company you buy your electricity from. You can only have a SEG tariff with one supplier at a time.

How much will I be paid?

Each supplier decides its own SEG rate, the type of tariff and how long the contract lasts. GOV.UK notes that this includes whether the rate is fixed or variable. The one fixed rule is that the rate must be above zero at all times. Rates change, so we don't list them here. Check the suppliers' own websites for current offers.

A few other points from Ofgem's guidance:

• Payments are based on actual export meter readings. A supplier doesn't have to pay until it has received them.
• Your supplier decides how often it pays you. The rules don't set a frequency.
• You're paid for what you export, not for everything you generate. Electricity you use at home isn't paid for under the SEG, but it means you buy less from the grid. Read more in our guide to how solar cuts your bills.

What if I have a battery?

If your battery only stores electricity from your solar panels, what it exports is still solar electricity.

It's different if your battery also charges from the grid, for example on a cheap overnight time-of-use rate. Ofgem's guidance (paragraphs 1.39 to 1.42) says that where an export meter may also record electricity from a source that isn't SEG-eligible, including "a battery that is charged from a source other than the SEG eligible technology", the supplier isn't obliged to make SEG payments, but can choose to. It may:

• pay on none of the export;
• pay on all of it;
• ask you to fit extra meters so the non-eligible part can be worked out and deducted; or
• pro-rate or estimate the non-eligible part.

Suppliers handle this differently, so if you plan to charge a battery from the grid, ask your SEG supplier how it treats that before you sign up. See our battery storage page for more on how batteries work with solar.

What happens if my SEG supplier stops offering it?

Ofgem says a mandatory licensee can't choose to stop offering a SEG tariff. If a supplier stops being a SEG licensee, it stays one until the following 31 March and must tell you within six weeks. If a supplier goes bust, you'll need to find a new SEG supplier yourself. Ofgem says a new supplier isn't responsible for export made before your new contract starts, so it's worth acting quickly.

If you add more panels later, your SEG contract requires you to tell your supplier. If you have a complaint, go to your SEG supplier first. If it isn't resolved after eight weeks, you can take it to the Energy Ombudsman.

If you have questions about your MCS certificate or setting up export payments, our team can help. You can visit a showroom or see our FAQs.