The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Scheme

Solar panel users don’t necessarily use all of the electricity their panels generate at any one time. This electricity can be put back into the National Grid and large energy companies are obliged to pay a tariff for it.

The government set up the SEG scheme to help everyone use more renewable energy and this replaces the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme that ended in April 2019.

All energy companies with more than 150,000 customers must offer at least one SEG tariff that is export-only. This means that you can choose a different supplier to sell your renewable electricity than the one that you buy electricity from.

Energy companies set their own rates and these can vary significantly from 1p per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 15p per kWh. As this is a separate arrangement to your normal gas and electricity supply and you will need to shop around to make sure you get a price you are happy with.

Here is a good place to start your search.

How do I apply?

Once you have selected your energy company to sell your excess energy to, you need to follow the directions on the Smart Export Guarantee section of their website. Below are links to the main energy companies.

Remember you don’t have to get your SEG payments from the same company that supplies your energy but do check your existing supplier; as a customer, you might get better SEG rates.

E.ON Next
Ovo Energy   
Octopus Energy
Scottish Power
Shell Energy
British Gas
EDF Energy
So Energy

Any home or business can sell the extra power they generate back to the grid. Just complete the energy company’s Smart Export Guarantee application form online and submit it (it can take up to 4 weeks to process your application).

When completing the application process, your energy supplier will ask you to provide additional documents related to the installation of your solar PV system. This information will be sent by the following organisation depending on your geographical location:

Thrift Energy – North
GHS (Green Home Solutions) – Midlands
Surefire Management Services – South