SEG rates UK: compare solar export tariffs

Quick answer

There is no single SEG rate across Great Britain. In the representative supplier snapshot checked on 7 October 2026, open flat-rate examples run from 3p to 6p/kWh, while supplier- or installer-linked offers can reach materially higher headline rates.

The best SEG tariff for a household is therefore not automatically the highest number in the table. Compare the rate you can actually access with any import-tariff, installer, equipment and battery conditions attached to it.

Representative Great Britain export tariff snapshot

Rates checked: 7 October 2026. This is a representative snapshot, not every Great Britain export tariff, not exhaustive and not ranked. The examples are included to show how access conditions change the rate a household can actually obtain.

Rates and terms can change, and the eligibility wording below is simplified for comparison. Check the linked supplier's current product page and full terms before applying or switching. No supplier is endorsed here.

A higher export rate can be offset by a less attractive import tariff. Compare both sides of the arrangement before moving your electricity supply.

Which SEG rates are highest in this snapshot?

The highest headline rate in this representative snapshot is OVO's SEG Install Exclusive at up to 20p/kWh, but that rate requires qualifying OVO-installed solar and battery equipment plus OVO import supply. ScottishPower's 15p/kWh SmartGen Premium Plus and E.ON Next's 13p/kWh Next Export Exclusive also carry access conditions.

Among the open examples shown here, E.ON Next Flex Export is 6p/kWh. The point is not to rank one universal winner: access conditions can change which tariff is genuinely available and whether switching the import side still improves the full household result.

What the access categories mean

Open tariffs do not require you to buy imported electricity from the export supplier, although normal installation, metering and certification criteria still apply. Import-linked tariffs require the same company to supply the electricity you consume. Installer-linked tariffs add a requirement about who installed the panels, battery or both.

Time-of-use or dynamic tariffs pay different export prices at different times. They cannot be compared honestly using one headline flat rate because the result depends on when your system exports.

• Open: start here when you want to keep your current import supplier.
• Import-linked: compare the export gain with the complete cost of the required import tariff.
• Installer or equipment-linked: check the installation date, equipment and supplier wording carefully.
• Dynamic or time-of-use: estimate when export will occur, not only how many kWh you export.

Compare import and export economics together

The financially strongest export tariff is not necessarily the one with the highest export number. If a premium rate requires a more expensive import tariff, the extra cost of the electricity you buy may outweigh the extra export income.

Compare the import unit price, export price, expected annual imported kWh, expected annual exported kWh and standing charge. If you have a battery, also consider when it charges and discharges, efficiency losses and any tariff-control rules.

This does not require a complex tariff engine. Use realistic annual volumes, calculate each side separately, and compare the total household result.

How to calculate solar export income

Annual export income is exported kWh multiplied by the export rate. If 2,000kWh is exported, 5p/kWh produces £100 a year, 10p/kWh produces £200, and 15p/kWh produces £300.

Those are illustrative arithmetic examples, not an average SEG rate and not tariff recommendations. Use the export rate you can actually access. Keep export income separate from the bill saving on electricity used at home, because self-used electricity is valued at the avoided import price.

How much solar can you export? kWh and kW are different

Annual exported energy is measured in kWh. It is the solar electricity that is not used directly in the home or retained and consumed behind the meter, and it is the quantity used to calculate export income.

Instantaneous export power is measured in kW. It can be constrained by the inverter configuration, the DNO connection arrangement or an export-limitation scheme. There is no universal household export-power limit: the answer depends on the installation and its agreed connection.

See the UK solar export-limit guide

Flat, dynamic and time-of-use export

A flat export tariff pays the same published rate for each exported kWh, which makes household planning straightforward. A dynamic or time-of-use tariff changes the payment by half-hour or time window.

Octopus Agile Outgoing is a current example whose export price follows half-hourly day-ahead wholesale rates. It has no single representative p/kWh figure, so its value depends on the timing of your export rather than a fixed headline number.

A battery may move export into higher-value periods, but the calculation must include the import tariff, battery losses, controls and supplier rules. Historical dynamic prices are useful evidence, not a promise of future earnings.

What changes if you have a battery

A battery can reduce the solar exported during lower-value periods by holding energy for later household use. Some tariffs also allow or encourage strategic battery export, while premium offers may depend on particular equipment, installers, import supply or supplier control.

Ask whether the supplier pays for all measured export, only renewable-generated export, or restricts electricity that was imported and stored. A higher export rate does not automatically make the battery financially worthwhile: compare the extra battery cost and its effect on both import savings and export income.

• Can the battery export electricity previously imported from the grid?
• Does the tariff require particular battery equipment or supplier control?
• Will chasing export windows leave enough stored energy for household use?
• Does the battery still improve the result after costs and efficiency losses?

SEG prerequisites without the paperwork detour

For a Great Britain SEG application, you need eligible generation, suitable export metering, acceptable installation certification and compliance with the chosen supplier's requirements. Ofgem says SEG licensees choose their own rates, contract lengths and some other terms, while every SEG rate must remain above zero.

The separate SEG guide covers scheme eligibility, MCS or equivalent certification, export metering and MPAN details, the application process and the interaction with Feed-in Tariff export payments.

Northern Ireland uses a separate arrangement

The tariff snapshot above covers Great Britain, where the Smart Export Guarantee applies. Northern Ireland uses separate renewable-generation arrangements and is not included in the GB SEG table.

When checked on 7 October 2026, Power NI's public tariff-rate page still displayed the 9.64p/kWh export rate for the period that ended on 30 September 2026 and said rates are reviewed annually. This guide therefore does not present that expired figure as the current Northern Ireland rate; check Power NI directly for the latest published tariff.

Use the rate you can actually access