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3rd Feb 2020

What is the Smart Export Guarantee?

We bid farewell to the Feed in Tariff in March 2019. Until then new solar customers had qualified for guaranteed government payments in return for the energy produced for the national grid. The scheme was a hugely successful incentive to encourage uptake of solar PV.

Installation costs have reduced dramatically over the past few years and this was among the factors which led to the government’s decision to discontinue the FiT.

So how are new solar PV customers repaid for the energy they generate for the national grid?

Introducing… the Smart Export Guarantee!

The SEG pays new solar households – and those generating other forms of clean energy – for any excess electricity they generate and don’t use themselves. Energy companies with more than 150,000 customers are obliged to offer the SEG.

There are two types of SEG:

Fixed rate SEGs have a set amount that they pay per kWh of electricity you export to the grid, regardless of when you export it. This is currently the most common type of SEG.

Flexible rate SEGs pay varying amounts depending on how valuable the power is to the system at a given time. So you could be paid a higher rate for exporting energy at a time when there is a high demand for it (in the evening, for example). Octopus Energy’s Outgoing Agile tariff is an example of a flexible rate SEG. With battery storage such as Tesla Powerwall enables you can maximise the benefit of these tariffs.

SEG rates vary and it’s worth shopping around for the best on offer. Fortunately the Solar Trade Association has compiled a table of tariffs.

You can find out more about the Smart Export Guarantee and how it could work for you from Which?

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