The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) in 2026: How Export Tariffs Work and How to Pick a Good One

If you've got solar panels (or you're about to), the Smart Export Guarantee is how you get paid for the electricity you send back to the grid instead of using yourself. It replaced the old Feed-in Tariff, which closed to new applicants in 2019. The catch is that SEG rates are set by each supplier, not the government, so what you're offered varies enormously — and the headline number is easy to misread. This guide explains how it actually works and how to pick a tariff that suits your house, not the installer's brochure.

How the Smart Export Guarantee works

SEG is a legal obligation on larger energy suppliers to pay you for every kWh of solar (or other renewable) electricity you export to the grid. To claim it you need two things:

• An MCS-certified installation (the paperwork the supplier requires to sign you up).
• A smart meter (SMETS2) that can measure your export half-hourly.

You get paid on metered export — the electricity that actually leaves your property. Anything you use in the house yourself never touches the export meter, so it earns nothing under SEG. That's the single most important thing to understand, and we'll come back to it.

Note for Northern Ireland: NI has a separate electricity market and the SEG rates and rules below don't apply there — check locally.

The range of rates in 2026

Because each supplier sets its own SEG rate, the market is wide. In this pack the typical range runs from about 4p to 16.5p per kWh. A few illustrative points from the same source:

Those numbers are examples, not gospel. SEG rates are retailer-set and volatile, and can change with 30 days' notice, so always confirm the current figure with the supplier before you rely on it. The gap between the best and worst offers — roughly a fourfold difference — is why it pays to shop around rather than accept whatever your import supplier happens to bolt on.

Flat rate vs time-of-use

There are broadly two shapes of SEG tariff:

• Flat rate — you get the same p/kWh whenever you export. Simple, predictable, and fine for a standard solar-only home that exports its surplus across the middle of the day.
• Time-of-use (TOU) — the rate changes by time of day, usually paying a premium during the late-afternoon/early-evening peak (roughly 4–7pm). The premium ones typically require a battery, because the whole point is to hold your solar back and dump it to the grid when the export price is highest.

Import and export can be different suppliers

A point many people miss: your export tariff does not have to come from the same company that supplies your electricity. You can import from one supplier on a good unit rate and standing charge, and export to another on the best SEG deal — provided you meet each one's sign-up rules.

That flexibility cuts both ways, though. Some of the best export tariffs are only available if you also take that supplier's import tariff. So the right question isn't "what's the best export rate?" — it's "what's the best combined position across my import unit rate, standing charge and export rate?" A slightly lower SEG rate paired with a cheaper import tariff can beat a headline export rate that locks you into an expensive import deal.

To work that out you have to read your actual bill: your unit rate (p/kWh), your standing charge (p/day), and whether you're on a fixed, Economy 7 or smart tariff. For reference, the pack lists a typical electricity unit rate of 24.67p/kWh under the Ofgem cap — but the cap resets every quarter and many households are on tariffs that differ from it, so use your own figures.

How to choose a good SEG tariff

• Start with self-consumption, not export. Every kWh you use yourself displaces electricity at ~25p/kWh; every kWh you export earns you the SEG rate, often far less. Using more of your own solar is worth more than exporting it. Shift washing, dishwasher and hot water into daylight hours first.
• Match the tariff shape to your kit. Solar only? A strong flat rate is usually the sensible choice. Solar + battery? A TOU tariff can pay off — if you'll actually cycle the battery to export at peak.
• Compare the whole package. Import rate + standing charge + export rate together, over a year, using your real usage.
• Check the conditions. Some tariffs require you to be an import customer, need specific hardware, or exclude standalone SEG (like the 4.1p example) from their premium rates.
• Re-check periodically. Rates move with 30 days' notice; switching export supplier is allowed.

One connection note: systems over 3.68kW per phase need a G99 application and the DNO may impose an export limit, so you can't always assume you'll export everything you generate. Size to how much you'll self-consume.

We don't sell panels, batteries, tariffs or referrals — and unlike the "free" comparison sites, no supplier pays us a penny to point you their way. That's exactly why we'll tell you when a dazzling peak export rate won't earn its keep at your house. For a small fixed fee we model your actual bill and export profile, and if the honest answer is "stick with a simple flat rate," that's what you'll get.

Figures in this guide are current at the date of publication and indicative only — SEG/export rates change with 30 days' notice, the Ofgem price cap resets quarterly, and grant terms change. Confirm the current numbers for your situation before you commit. This is general information, not personal financial advice.