What is the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)?

If your panels generate more than you use, the surplus flows to the grid — and the SEG is the mechanism that pays you for it. This page sets out how the scheme works and what you need to qualify.

How the scheme works

The SEG creates a market for exported renewable electricity. The government requires the larger licensed suppliers to offer at least one export tariff that pays a rate above zero for every kWh a household sends to the grid. Smaller suppliers may offer a tariff voluntarily but are not obliged to.

Crucially, suppliers set their own rates and terms — the government guarantees that a payment must be offered, not how much it is. That means SEG rates and conditions vary between suppliers, and it can pay to compare them. A useful feature is that you can buy your electricity from one supplier and take your SEG export tariff from a different one, so you are free to shop around for the best export rate independently of your import deal.

The scheme was introduced to fill the gap left when the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants, ensuring that households fitting solar after that point still had an assured route to be paid for what they export. Without such a requirement, a supplier could simply take exported electricity for nothing; the SEG obliges the larger suppliers to put a price on it. That said, the obligation is only to offer a rate above zero, so the headline figures differ widely between suppliers and shift over time, which is exactly why comparing offers is worthwhile rather than accepting the first tariff put in front of you.

What you need to qualify

To be eligible for an SEG tariff, a domestic solar installation generally needs to meet a few conditions:

• The system must be certified under MCS (the Microgeneration Certification Scheme) or an equivalent, covering both the equipment and the installer.
• You need a meter capable of recording your export — usually a smart meter, which measures what flows back to the grid half-hourly.
• The installation must be within the eligible capacity limit (up to 5 MW for solar PV, far above any domestic system).

With those in place, you apply to a supplier's SEG tariff and provide your MCS certificate and meter details. The supplier then pays you for the metered export, typically as a credit, on whatever schedule their tariff specifies.

Comparison for guidance only. Source: Ofgem.

How much can you earn?

Because suppliers set their own SEG rates, the per-kWh payment varies, and some tariffs are fixed while others track wholesale or time-of-use prices. The amount you actually earn depends on how much you export, which in turn depends on your system size and how much of your generation you use yourself.

The more solar you consume on site — by running appliances during the day or storing surplus in a battery — the less you export and so the lower your SEG payment, but the more you save on imported electricity, which is usually worth more per kWh than the export rate. For most households the bigger financial benefit of solar comes from avoiding electricity purchases rather than from SEG export income, so the SEG is best seen as a worthwhile top-up rather than the main return. It is still well worth signing up, since exporting for nothing makes no sense when a payment is available.

Choosing between SEG tariff types

Because the SEG is a market rather than a single rate, the tariffs on offer come in a few shapes, and the best fit depends on how and when you export:

• Fixed-rate tariffs pay the same amount for every kWh exported, whenever it leaves your home. They are simple and predictable, and suit households that just want a straightforward export payment.
• Variable or time-of-use tariffs change the rate by time of day, often paying more when grid demand and wholesale prices are high. These can pay more if your export happens to fall in higher-value periods, but the return is less predictable.

Some suppliers also link their SEG tariff to taking your import electricity from them, while others let you sign up for export alone — and you are always free to take export from a different supplier than the one you buy from. When comparing, look beyond the headline rate at the tariff conditions: how export is metered and settled, how often you are paid, and whether any bundling applies. Because rates and offers change over time, it is worth reviewing your SEG tariff periodically rather than treating it as fixed forever. The scheme guarantees that a payment must be available from the larger suppliers; making the most of it is a matter of choosing the tariff that matches your export pattern and revisiting it as the market moves.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Ofgem — About the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
• Energy Saving Trust — The Smart Export Guarantee

Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific home. They are guidance, not a quotation or guaranteed saving.