What is the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)?
The SEG launched on 1 January 2020 and is a government-backed initiative. The SEG requires some electricity suppliers, known as SEG Licensees, to pay small-scale generators, known as SEG Generators, for low-carbon electricity which they export back to the National Grid, providing certain criteria are met.
Who is the scheme for?
Anyone with an installation of the below systems up to 5MW, or 50kW for micro-CHP
- Solar Photovoltaic (solar PV)
- Wind
- Micro- CHP
- Hydro
- Anaerobic Digestion (AD)
For Solar PV you must also have a smart meter installed at your property or business.
How to Qualify for a SEG tariff
You need to have a renewable electricity generating system that meets the SEG eligibility requirements.
You must have a meter capable of providing half-hourly export readings. This would typically be a smart meter. Speak to your energy supplier about getting a smart meter installed if you do not already have one.
You need to show that your installation and installer are certified through the microgeneration certification scheme (MCS) or equivalent.
You cannot receive a SEG tariff if you are receiving export payments under the Feed-in Tariff scheme.
My Green Electricity are fully qualified and certified on the MCS scheme, our team of experts can offer support and guidance through your energy journey.
SEG providers have their own qualifying factors, we will point out some of these below. Make sure to speak to a export before making any commitments to ensure you have a clear understanding of what is required, and it is available to you
See the list of providers and the SEG rates below
| UK ENERGY SUPPLIER | PRICE (p/kWh) | NAME OF SEG TARIFF/SEG RATE |
| Octopus (own customers with a GivEnergy Solar Battery) | 35p* | Intelligent Octopus Flux |
| Octopus (own customers with a solar battery) | 30p* | Octopus Flux |
| OVO (own solar customers with a battery) | 20p | OVO SEG Tariff |
| Good Energy (own solar customers with a battery) | 20p | Solar Savings Exclusive |
| So Energy (own solar customers) | 20p | Smart Export Guarantee Tariff |
| E.On (own customers) | 16.5p | Next Export Exclusive |
| Octopus (own customers) | 15p | Outgoing Fixed |
| OVO (own solar customers) | 15p | OVO SEG Tariff |
| Scottish Power (own customers) | 15p | SmartGen+ |
| British Gas (own customers) | 15p | Export and Earn Plus |
| Good Energy (own customers with a smart meter) | 15p | Solar Savings |
| Scottish Power (non-customers) | 12p | SmartGen |
| Octopus (own customers on Go tariff) | 8p | Outgoing Fixed Lite |
| So Energy | 7.5p | So Export Flex |
| Rebel Energy | 6-10p | SEG Tariff Snail |
| British Gas (non-customers) | 6.4p | Export & Earn Flex |
| EDF (own customers) | 5.6p | Export Variable Value |
| Utility Warehouse (customers) | 5.6p | UW Smart Export Guarantee – Bundle |
| Pozitive Energy | 5p | SEG tariff |
| Octopus (non-customers) | 4.1p | Outgoing Go |
| OVO (non-customers) | 4p | OVO SEG Tariff |
| Utilita | 3p | Utilita Smart Export Guarantee |
| EDF (non-customers) | 3p | Export Variable |
| E.ON (non-customers) | 3p | Next Export |
| Utility Warehouse | 2p | UW Smart Export Guarantee – Standard |
| E | 1p | E SEG January2020v.1 |
* SEG Tariff is variable. It varies depending on your location, and includes an off-peak period, so this is a representative rate.
Many companies require you be customers with them for you gird energy supply in order to be eligible, however there are some that will provide SEG without this is you have a reason to not want to change supplier.
How does it work?
SEG providers decide the rate, length of contract and the terms which generators get. The tariff must be above Zero,
SEG payments are calculated by export meter readings, and generators are paid for the electricity they export back to the grid
Anyone thinking of getting a SEG tariff should shop around to see which is the best rate available. To help with this we have provided the list of current providers and their rates.
There is other eligibility criteria that needs to be met, you should contact the supplier directly to find out what they are
The best Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) rates- Discussed
We will explain a few of the best tariffs out there. While many more are available, they have more restrictive criteria to access or the rates simply aren’t as good. The tariffs highlighted below are what offer the best rates, whilst being available to most people.
Intelligent Octopus Flux offers the best rates for SEG. The only barrier is switching to Octopus for your energy. We recommended doing this in most cases.
This rate is only available to specific brands of batteries- from June 2024 these are; GivEnergy, Enphase and Tesla
On this tariff you receive 30.31p per kWh you export between 16:00PM- 19:00PM, you receive 22.73p per kWh for the rest of the time.
You can earn the most by exporting your excess electricity within this peak time, something you can easily set up via the Octopus app.
Octopus Flux is a tariff that’s pays varying amounts depending on when you export you excess electricity and where you live. The average is 21p per kWh.
If you sold your energy to the grid between the hours of 02:00- 05:00AM you will only get roughly 6p per kWh. If you export between 16:00-19:00PM the rate will be about 26p. Outside of these times your rate will be roughly 16p per kWh.
To access this you need to be a customer with Octopus and have a Solar panel system with Battery storage.
This tarrif is more accessible as it does not have specific requirements for the brand of battery
Octopus Outgoing Fixed. The easiest tariff from Octopus, you need to have Octopus as your energy supplier.
This pays a flat rate of 15p per kWh. This is for systems that do not have a battery system with their Solar installation.
Eon & British gas also have similar tariffs depending on your preference.
Scottish Power SmartGen is the best options for customers who don’t want to be restricted by who their energy supplier and installer is.
This tariff offers 12p per kWH, the other comparable option would be from So Energy at 7.5p per kWh. This means Scottish Power SmartGen is 60% better!
This gives a few examples of some of the best tariffs available out there1
Remember- you should always speak to a expert before making any decision to change suppliers or sign up to a tariff.