It's very exciting to have had your solar panels installed, but how can you make money from any excess electricity that you produce and sell back to the National grid?
What is the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)?
The SEG is a government backed initiative that allows you to sell your excess energy back to the grid.
Who can apply to the SEG?
Anyone with a renewable generation at home should be able to sign up to an SEG tariff, but there are a few requirements you must meet:
- Your installation must be of 5MW capacity or less.
- You'll need a meter that can provide half-hourly readings for electricity export (smart meters).
- Your installation must be MCS-certified.
We have made sure that all installations done through MakeMyHouseGreen meet these requirements, so you don’t have to worry about this if you choose to have your installation with us!
What do you need to apply to the SEG?
Each supplier has different application requirements, but there are a few documents you usually need to send through, or extract information from:
- MCS certificate, which will include your installation details, smart meter details and site details
- A copy of your final bill marked as “paid”
- Site schematic/single line connection diagram
- G98/G99 post commissioning District Network Operator (DNO) notification form
- G98/G99 DNO response
For all installations done through MakeMyHouseGreen you should expect to receive these documents within 14 days of your installation, we use technology to ensure these documents are with you as soon as possible. However, the G98/G99 DNO response may take up to three months as we depend on the DNO getting back to us.
If you've had your installation done with us, you will be notified once we have these documents ready for you, and you should be able to always access them by logging into our platform Handy, right?
How to choose which provider to go with?
Energy suppliers set their own SEG tariff prices, so you should look around to make sure you are getting the best price.
Your SEG supplier doesn’t need to be the same company who supplies your energy. But you often get a better export rate if you buy your energy from the same supplier as you sell it to.
There are fixed rate and variable rate SEG tariffs:
- Fixed rate SEGs have a set amount that they pay per kWh of electricity exported to the grid.
- Variable rate SEGs pay varying amounts depending on how valuable the electricity is to the system at different times.
Each SEG provider will have details of their specific application process on their website.
Which suppliers offer export tariffs, and how do they compare?
All energy suppliers with over 150,000 customers have to offer an SEG tariff. However, some energy suppliers offer other export tariffs as well. These often have more favourable rates, but come with different requirements. We've listed the available ones below so that you can find which suits you best.
| Supplier | Tariff name | Tariff type | Price | Notes |
| Tesla | Tesla Energy Plan | Variable | 10-12p / kWh | You must have Powerwall 2 batteries. |
| Octopus | Agile Octopus | Variable | 4p-10p / kWh | Octopus must be your import supplier. |
| Octopus | Fixed Outgoing Octopus | Fixed | 7p / kWh | Octopus must be your import supplier. If not, the price goes down to 4.1p (per kWh). |
| Bulb | Export payments | Fixed | 5.57p / kWh | Bulb must be your import supplier. If not, the price goes down to 3p (per kWh). |
| Scottish Power | Smart Export Variable | Variable | 5.5p / kWh | Scottish power doesn’t have to be your import supplier. |
| E.ON Next | Next Export Exclusive | Fixed | 5.5p / kWh | You must have bought your solar installation with E.ON Solar. If not, the price goes down to 3p (per kWh) |
| SO Energy | So Altair | Fixed | 5p / kWh | So Energy doesn’t have to be your import supplier. |
| OVO Energy | OVO SEG tariff | Fixed | 4p / kWh | OVO Energy doesn’t have to be your import supplier. |
| Shell Energy | SEG tariff | Variable | 3.5p / kWh | Shell Energy doesn’t have to be your import supplier. |
| British Gas | Export and Earn Flex | Variable | 3.2p / kWh | British Gas doesn’t have to be your import supplier. |
| Utilita | Smart Export Guarantee | Fixed | 3p / kWh | Utilita doesn't have to be your import supplier. |
| Utility Warehouse | UW Smart Export Guarantee | Variable | 2p / kWh | Utility Warehouse doesn’t have to be your import supplier. If they are and you have 2 or more additional services with them, it goes up to 5.6p (per kWh) |
| EDF Energy | Export+Earn tariff | Fixed | 1.5p / kWh | EDF Energy doesn't have to be your import supplier. |
We know the SEG application process can be overwhelming, but hopefully this guide will help you navigate through it!
