Most solar homeowners we meet have not looked at their SEG tariff since the panels were commissioned. Quietly, that habit costs about £400 a year. The Smart Export Guarantee is the legal floor: every large supplier has to pay you for the surplus you send back. The floor itself is just over 1p/kWh. Competitive suppliers pay far more. In 2026 the gap between the best SEG deal and the worst is around 14p/kWh. On a typical 4kW system that is £400 a year. Every year, for the life of the panels.
How SEG actually works, in 30 seconds
- An MCS-certified solar install (wind, hydro and AD also qualify). Every OMEGA install is MCS-certified at commissioning.
- A SMETS2 smart meter that reports half-hourly export. If yours doesn't, your supplier will upgrade it free.
- Application to a SEG licensee of your choice — it doesn't have to be your import supplier.
- Payment per kWh exported. Most suppliers pay quarterly; a few pay on every billing cycle.
The 2026 SEG tariff league table
| Tariff | Rate | Type | Tied to import supplier? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Outgoing Fixed | 15p/kWh | Fixed | No | Most homes — simple and high |
| Octopus Outgoing Agile | 5-30p/kWh half-hourly | Variable | No | Battery owners with smart export control |
| Eon Next Export Exclusive | 16.5p/kWh | Fixed | Yes (Next Drive) | EV-charging households on Eon |
| Scottish Power SmartGen+ | 12p/kWh | Fixed | Yes | Existing SP customers wanting one bill |
| EDF Export+ Earn | 5.6p/kWh | Fixed | No | Avoid unless tied to a bundle deal |
| British Gas Export & Earn Plus | 6.4p/kWh | Fixed | Yes | Existing BG customers only |
| SSE Export Tariff | 5p/kWh | Fixed | No | Floor rate only — switch |
| OVO Smart Export | 4p/kWh | Fixed | Yes | Floor rate only — switch |
Fixed or Agile — which actually wins for you?
Outgoing Fixed at 15p/kWh is a great default. Set-and-forget, paid quarterly, no nonsense. Agile — half-hourly pricing tied to the wholesale market — can occasionally pay 30p/kWh during evening peaks, but routinely drops to 5p during the middle of the day, exactly when solar output is highest. For a household without active battery management timing exports to peak windows, Fixed beats Agile by 10–20% over a typical year.
If you do have a battery and a smart-control system — Solis, GivEnergy, Tesla Powerwall with TOU schedules — Agile can outperform Fixed by 20–30%. But only if you tune it. Most people who pick Agile and leave it alone do worse than Fixed. There's no shame in choosing the boring option that earns more.
Tariffs to switch away from in 2026
- Anything below 8p/kWh. That's the floor zone — you're being paid the minimum allowed. Switch.
- Tariffs that require you to also be the import customer, if switching import supplier just to qualify would cost you £100+ a year. Run both numbers together before you move.
- Quarterly-payment tariffs with no credit-balance ceiling. If you build up £300 in export credit over a year, that's an interest-free loan to your supplier. Look for monthly settlement instead.
How to actually switch your SEG
You can have one SEG provider at a time. To switch, apply to the new one — they handle notifying the previous supplier through the central registry. Allow 4–6 weeks for the smart-meter export channel to re-register. There are no exit fees on any 2026 SEG tariff, and the whole switch is paperless.
On a new solar install with us, the MCS certificate and SEG application are lodged as part of handover at no extra cost. We will also point you at the best tariff for your usage profile on the day. See your options first: ring 0800 229 4094 or book a survey online. We will tell you honestly if it isn't the right fix.
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