Best Smart Export Guarantee Rates in 2024

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) mandates that most big energy companies must pay you for the excess energy your solar panels generate. 

But exactly which energy suppliers are currently offering the best SEG rates in 2024? 

Let’s find out...

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Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Rates

In the UK, 15 different energy suppliers are offering SEG tariffs to their customers. 

The table below shows all the available SEG rates as of October 2023: 

Table last updated 2nd January 2024. 

*The SmartGen+ tariff is available to customers who meet the SEG eligibility criteria and who have had their solar panels and/or battery installed with ScottishPower.

What is the Smart Export Guarantee?

While it is well known that you can sell energy back to the national grid, many may not realise the ins and outs of how this works.

Moreover, you may be wondering who would purchase your energy and why?

After all, energy companies primarily get their supplies from large power stations.

So, what makes it certain that they’ll be willing to buy from small producers like you?

Well, this is where the smart export guarantee (SEG) comes in. 

In essence, it necessitates that some electricity suppliers purchase low-carbon electricity from small-scale energy producers.

This electricity is then returned to the national grid. 

In the context of the SEG, those who would purchase your electricity would be SEG licensees and you would be considered an SEG generator.

However, as you might expect, there are certain terms and conditions for this process.

Who Offers the Best SEG Rates?

At present, energy supplier Octopus Energy offers the best SEG rate in the UK. 

They pay 24p for every kWh you provide from your solar or another renewable system to the grid. 

The catch with Octopus is the fact that you have to be one of their current energy customers. If you aren't they offer just 4.1p for every kWh of power you provide. 

The best SEG rate that any household can access i.e. you don't have to be a customer is Scottish Power which is currently offering 12p per kWH.  

SEG Eligibility

Before looking at the ins and outs of how the initiative works, let’s look at whether or not you may be eligible. 

Here are the five types of installations which may bring you eligibility for the SEG:

• Wind power.

• Solar photovoltaic or solar PV.

• Hydropower.

• Anaerobic digestion (AD).

• Micro combined heat and power or micro-CHP.

You may be able to take advantage of the SEG with a capacity of as much as 5 megawatts if you generate one of the first four types of energy listed above.

However, that figure is 50 kilowatts in the case of micro-CHP.

Moreover, your energy system(s) must be installed in Great Britain (i.e., England, Scotland or Wales). 

Here are some further requirements to take into consideration:

• If you want to benefit from the SEG, you’ll need to submit an application to an SEG licensee (more on the exact licensees available later). Once you are eligible, you must receive payment for your energy.

• Please be aware that each licensee/energy purchaser will have its own particular application process. You’ll be able to find this on their respective websites. How much you’d receive will vary depending on the licensee too.

• Ofgem provides specific guidance for generators which needs to be met for eligibility.

• As for anaerobic digestion specifically, there is a range of sustainability criteria and reporting requirements that also apply. These are along with the guidance for generators, which applies to anaerobic digestion and any of the other five forms of low-carbon energy production we’re discussing today.

• Various small-scale renewable energy techs must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). The company purchasing your energy may ask to see your MCS or at least proof that your installation(s) meet these standards.

If you are unsure about any aspect of the SEG, you can contact Ofgem for more information and support. 

Who Are the SEG Licensees?

Please note that you cannot receive energy payments from more than one SEG licensee.

Energy providers can be one of three licensee types.

Next, there are voluntary licensees, those who may purchase electricity from SEG generators if they so choose.

By opting in, they are signing up to meet the obligations of an SEG licensee.

Lastly, non-SEG licensees may still purchase energy from small producers if they wish but they will not be bound by any obligations either way.

So, what energy companies could you sell your energy to (once all the criteria are met)?

Here is the list of mandatory SEG licensees:

• E

• British Gas

• OV Energy

• The Utility Warehouse

• EDF

• Bulb

• E.ON

• Shell Energy

• Octopus Energy

• ScottishPower

• ESB

• Utilita

And the voluntary SEG licensees are as follows:

• Cilleni Energy Supply

• Pozitive Energy

• Smart Pay Energy

Across the board, there are several criteria worth considering when choosing the right SEG licensee for you, namely:

• Tariff type

• Tariff rate per kW

• Payment cycle

• Whether or not their contract covers battery storage

• Whether or not they must be on the supplier import tariff

Tariff rates tend to vary by 2.0p per kW and 6.0p per kW, although Tesla offers up to 12.0p per kW.

As for whether or not they must be on the supplier import tariff, this varies greatly.

For instance, Bulb Energy, Octopus Energy, and SSE must be on the supplier import tariff.

On the other hand, this isn’t the case for OVO Energy, ScottishPower or British Gas.

How Does the SEG Work?

As touched on, how exactly the guarantee would function in your case would depend on which SEG licensee you apply for.

After all, each SEG licensee not only decides how much they pay SEG generators but various terms such as how long a contract would be.

So, if an SEG licensee offers a certain payment per kW of energy, the more kW of energy you sell them, the more money you’ll receive.

You will be paid after selling your electricity to an SEG licensee before they can export that energy to the national grid. 

It’s somewhat of a win-win-win situation. You, the SEG generator, get cash for excess energy (or all of the electricity you generate if you’d prefer), the SEG licensee has more energy to provide customers with, and the national grid has more energy to work with.

Ultimately, though, since terms such as what rate you would receive vary, it’s best to look at a range of licensees and take time to consider your options before making an application.

Please also be aware that if an energy storage system is part of your renewable energy installations, this may affect your application.

You’ll still be eligible (again, assuming you meet all the other criteria) but additional rules may apply.

To provide an example, if you generate green and ‘brown’ electricity (with the latter being non-renewable energy), additional rules may apply.

It’s possible you’ll be asked how you separate green and brown electricity so that the provider knows they are receiving green energy only.

Alternatively, an SEG licensee/electricity provider may decide to purchase your brown electricity. But they will not be obliged to.

After all, to reiterate, the smart export guarantee relates to low-carbon energy.

Nonetheless, if you generate both green and brown energy, you can discuss this with your potential SEG licensee.

What Else Should I Know?

You may want to know whether or not you can combine the SEG with additional grants.

The good news is that yes you generally can. This is with the exception of if you are receiving payments as part of the Feed-in Tariffs or FIT scheme.

In other words, you can’t receive FIT and SEG payments simultaneously.

This makes sense considering that the SEG is effectively the FIT’s successor.

While the FIT scheme closed to new applicants in March 2019, many are still on the scheme from signing up years prior. 

Of course, if you are on the FIT scheme, you can switch over to SEG and receive payments via the new scheme instead.

Aside from the FIT, you can combine SEG payments with any other financial support.

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