Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) explained: UK rates, 2026
The Smart Export Guarantee is the part of solar that gets over-sold. Sellers love to quote a shiny export rate because it makes the payback slide look shorter — but export is the smaller half of the maths, and the rates change. Here is the honest version, with named tariffs dated to July 2026 and a clear explanation of why the export number matters less than you'd think.
What the Smart Export Guarantee actually is
The SEG is a government-mandated scheme, run under Ofgem rules, that requires every larger licensed electricity supplier (those with 150,000+ customers) to offer at least one tariff paying homeowners for surplus solar exported to the grid. When your panels generate more than your home is using at that moment, the excess flows out to the network, your export meter records it, and your SEG supplier pays you per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Smaller suppliers can offer a rate voluntarily but aren't obliged to.
Crucially, the scheme sets no minimum rate beyond "greater than zero". That leaves a wide, confusing spread of offers — from a token few pence to competitive double-digit rates — and it's why you'll see rival guides quote wildly different figures. It replaced the far more generous Feed-in Tariff, which closed to new applicants in 2019, so anyone installing today is in SEG territory, not the old FiT world. If you want the full picture of where export income sits in your annual return, read how much solar panels save.
SEG rates as at July 2026
Below are the leading UK export tariffs, dated so you can see how current they are. This is the single biggest weakness in most solar guides — many still run 2025 rates, mix 12p and 15p as if both were live, or quote no figure at all. Every rate here is stamped as at July 2026 and should be re-checked before you sign, because suppliers change them without much notice.
| Tariff | Export rate (as at July 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Octopus Outgoing Fixed / Panel Power | 12p / kWh | Cut from a rate that was 15p on 1 March 2026. Best-paying widely-available flat rate; usually needs you to be an Octopus import customer too. |
| Good Energy | ~15p / kWh | Among the highest flat rates; open without switching your import supplier (check current terms). |
| Octopus flat SEG (standard) | 4.1p / kWh | The basic obligatory rate for those not on the enhanced tariff — closer to the mandatory floor. |
| Octopus Flux / Intelligent Flux | Closed to new customers | No longer available to sign up for — ignore any guide still presenting these as options. |
| Basic / lower-end SEG tariffs | ~4p / kWh and up | The SEG sets no fixed floor beyond "above zero"; many big suppliers offer only a low single-figure rate, and you don't have to accept it. |
Do not read "15p" as the current Octopus headline — that was the pre-March-2026 rate and it is out of date. The honest summary is that a good flat SEG tariff earns you roughly 12–15p per exported unit today, and a poor one earns barely 4p. You can compare tariffs on Ofgem's Smart Export Guarantee page, which lists which suppliers must offer a rate.
The lesson that changes everything: self-consumption is worth double
Here is the point almost every solar advert glosses over. There are two ways solar puts money in your pocket, and they are not worth the same:
- Electricity you use yourself avoids buying a unit from the grid at about 26p (the Ofgem price cap is 26.11p/kWh for July–September 2026).
- Electricity you export earns only about 12p a unit under a good SEG tariff (Octopus Outgoing, as at July 2026).
So a unit you consume at home is worth roughly double a unit you export. Without a battery, a typical home only uses 45–50% of what its panels make and exports the rest at the lower rate — which is exactly why realistic annual savings land around £400–£700 rather than the eye-catching numbers some installers quote. The way to get more value from solar is not to chase a higher export rate; it's to use more of your own generation — running the dishwasher, washing machine, immersion heater or EV charger while the sun is out, or adding a battery to store the surplus. See how storage lifts self-consumption on the solar panel payback page, and run your own split on the savings calculator.
Why "lock in the export rate before it drops" is not real urgency
Because self-consumption does the heavy lifting, the export rate barely moves your bottom line. Even if SEG rates fell further tomorrow, most of your saving — the ~26p you avoid on every self-used unit — would be untouched. That's why we won't use the "rates are being cut, sign now" pressure line you'll hear elsewhere. SEG tariffs are typically 12-month contracts you can switch at renewal, so there is no permanent rate to secure by rushing.
The genuine, dated reasons to act sooner are different ones: 0% VAT on residential solar runs only to 31 March 2027, then reverts to 5% (VAT Notice 708/6), and Chinese module prices are forecast to rise 10–15% during 2026 after China scrapped its PV export VAT rebate in April 2026 — a forecast, not a certainty. Those are real levers. "Grab the export rate" is not. We cover the honest timing case in full on grants and funding.
How to qualify for the SEG
Three things must be in place before a supplier will pay you for export:
- MCS certification. Your solar PV system must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (up to 5MW). No MCS certificate, no SEG payments — it is the gatekeeper, so confirm your installer is MCS registered before you commit.
- A smart or export meter. You need a meter that records the units you send to the grid, normally a second-generation smart meter (SMETS2). Without accurate export readings, a supplier can't pay you for what you send back.
- DNO notification. Your installer must notify your Distribution Network Operator under G98 (systems up to 3.68kW per phase) or apply under G99 for larger arrays. This is standard paperwork a competent installer handles for you.
MCS also unlocks your consumer protection more broadly — it sits alongside RECC membership, TrustMark registration and BS 7671 electrical work. If an installer can't evidence MCS in writing, walk away: you'd lose SEG eligibility and your warranty protection in one go. More on vetting installers is on is solar worth it.
How to choose an SEG tariff
Two facts make choosing simpler than it looks. First, you don't have to take your export tariff from your import supplier — they're separate contracts, so you can buy electricity from one company and sell surplus to another. Second, the highest-paying tariffs sometimes come with a catch: a few, like Octopus Outgoing at its top rate, are reserved for that supplier's own import customers, so bundling can pay slightly more in practice.
A sensible approach: check the flat rate you'd qualify for as an existing customer, compare it against the best standalone rate, and don't switch your import supplier purely to win a couple of pence on export — because export is the smaller half of the picture. Prioritise a fair import rate and, if you're a heavy evening user or out during the day, look at a time-of-use import tariff and a battery instead. That combination shifts far more value than any export rate ever will. For the full return picture, see solar panel ROI.
The honest bottom line on export
The Smart Export Guarantee is a genuine, if modest, income stream — real money for surplus you'd otherwise give the grid for free. But it is the tail, not the dog. A well-designed system is sized and used to maximise self-consumption first, then exports whatever is left over. If a salesperson's payback figure leans heavily on a high export rate, or quotes an out-of-date 15p Octopus headline, treat it as a red flag. Value the unit you keep over the unit you sell, and the maths — and your trust — will hold up.