Applying for an Export Tariff: Readings, Statements and Payments

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) pays households for electricity they export to the grid, and the application is made to an electricity supplier that offers a SEG tariff, not to Ofgem. Generators apply directly to a SEG licensee, and that licensee does not need to be the same company that supplies the home's electricity¹. SEG licensees must offer a SEG tariff to all eligible generators, so the choice is about rate and terms rather than about access¹.

The scheme launched on 1 January 2020 under the Smart Export Guarantee Order 2019, replacing the Feed-in Tariff, which closed to new applications in April 2019². Ofgem administers the SEG on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which owns the policy⁴. Payments are made by the chosen SEG licensee for electricity exported back to the National Grid⁵.

Two conditions shape everything that follows. The installation must be located in Great Britain, so the scheme does not extend to Northern Ireland, and it must have a smart or export meter capable of half-hourly measurement¹. Payments are calculated using actual export meter readings, and the rate, contract length and other terms are set by the licensee⁵.

What the Smart Export Guarantee is and who must offer it

The SEG enables small-scale generators to receive payments from electricity suppliers for electricity exported back to the National Grid, provided certain criteria are met¹. It is a government-backed initiative, and the obligation falls on licensed electricity suppliers known as SEG Licensees, who must offer a tariff and pay eligible generators¹⁰. Standard Condition 57 of the Electricity Supply Licence states that a SEG Licensee, whether Mandatory or Voluntary, shall make SEG Payments to SEG Generators in accordance with Schedule A⁶.

The mandatory obligation applies to energy suppliers with over 150,000 customers, covering more than 90% of the retail market, with an implementation date of 31 December 2019 for mandated suppliers¹¹. Smaller suppliers are not required to be SEG licensees because they have not met the minimum threshold of domestic electricity customers, but they can choose to opt in and participate in the SEG arrangements and corresponding obligations for the entire SEG year¹⁰. Where they do, they must adhere to the rules and guidance associated with the SEG¹².

Supplier status is not permanent. All licensed electricity suppliers are required to participate in declaring their SEG status on an annual basis, and each year they go through the same notification process to confirm their status to Ofgem¹⁰. The status notified to Ofgem then applies for the duration of the relevant SEG year, from 1 April to 31 March¹⁰. A supplier that is not a SEG licensee can still choose to make export payments to generators but is not bound by the SEG arrangements¹⁰.

For a household, this structure matters in a specific way. The right to a SEG tariff comes from the licence conditions rather than from a negotiation, so an eligible generator cannot simply be refused by a mandatory licensee. What is not fixed is the price: licensees determine the rate, contract length and other terms⁵. The scheme guarantees a route to payment, not a particular level of it.

Eligible technologies: solar PV, wind, hydro, micro-CHP and anaerobic digestion

The eligible low-carbon energy sources under the SEG Order are anaerobic digestion, hydro generation stations, combined heat and power systems with an electricity capacity of 50 kilowatts or less, solar photovoltaic, and wind up to the maximum capacity specified in the SEG Order⁶. Ofgem's own list of eligible technologies matches this: solar photovoltaic, wind, micro combined heat and power, hydro and anaerobic digestion⁵.

The capacity ceiling inherited from the Feed-in Tariff framework is 5MW total installed capacity for solar photovoltaic, wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion¹³. The same 5MW limit appears in the Feed-in Tariff guidance for renewable installations and in the supplier guidance, so the figure is consistent across the documents that describe the predecessor scheme¹⁴.

In practice the SEG is a solar scheme. Ofgem's SEG Year 3 report recorded 30 installations for other technology types, of which 23 were micro-combined heat and power and seven were wind¹⁶. That distribution is worth stating plainly, because a household considering wind, hydro or anaerobic digestion is looking at a scheme whose administrative machinery and supplier tariffs are built around solar PV.

Most accredited FIT installations will be eligible for the SEG, provided they have a smart or export meter installed¹⁷. That matters for households that accredited under the older scheme and are now looking at export payments under the newer one.

The smart meter requirement and how exports are measured

A registered smart meter that records exported electricity is required, even where the household is not signing up to a smart tariff¹⁸. The meter must be capable of taking measurements at half-hourly intervals in relation to the exported electricity volumes for which payment is sought⁶. Exports under the SEG must be metered on a half-hourly basis and registered for settlement, but they are not required to be settled on a half-hourly basis².

The government's position is that SMETS-compliant smart meters are compatible with microgeneration and enable measurement of export on a half-hourly basis¹². Ofgem's guidance for generators describes the requirement as an export or smart meter capable of taking measurements at half-hourly intervals³. SEG payments are calculated by using export meter readings⁵.

The distinction between measurement and settlement is the part households most often misread. A half-hourly record of export does not mean the household is paid half-hourly, or that it is on a dynamic tariff. It means the licensee has a metered basis on which to calculate payment, which the licence conditions require it to use.

Where a household already receives FIT export payments for one installation and wants SEG payments for another, the two can coexist only if the installations are completely separate, with distinct import and export meters and different import and export MPANs¹⁹. The same separation rule appears in the supplier guidance¹³. A generator must not also receive or benefit from the FIT export tariff, or receive SEG payments from another SEG Licensee, for the same installation⁶.

How to apply: choosing a supplier and submitting your SEG application

The application route is direct. Generators who wish to receive payment for exported electricity need to apply to a SEG licensee, meaning an electricity supplier that offers a SEG tariff¹. Ofgem publishes a list of SEG licensees every year, and generators should contact SEG licensees directly for information about the scheme and to apply¹⁸.

There is no single national application form and no queue. The steps are:

1. Confirm the installation is eligible and located in Great Britain¹.
2. Confirm a smart or export meter capable of half-hourly measurement is fitted³.
3. Identify a SEG licensee from Ofgem's published list¹⁸.
4. Apply directly to that licensee, which must offer a SEG tariff to all eligible generators¹.
5. Receive written confirmation of the export tariff, which the licensee must provide as soon as reasonably practicable after a request for SEG payments⁶.

The licensee's conduct is regulated as well as its obligation to pay. Information about the SEG arrangements must be complete and accurate, capable of being easily understood by the SEG Generator, and must not mislead; it must also be fair, transparent, appropriate and delivered professionally⁶. That standard is the lever a household has if a tariff is described in a way that turns out not to match the contract.

The licensee must also assess the eligibility of installations, make SEG payments based on export meter readings, handle complaints from SEG generators, and provide data to Ofgem on tariff offerings, uptake and payments⁴. Ofgem's guidance for generators covers how the SEG works, who can apply and how, the SEG contract and payments, and what to do if there is a complaint²¹.

Because the licensee sets the rate, contract length and other terms, the application is effectively a choice between offers rather than a registration⁵. A household comparing options is comparing contracts, and the terms that matter are the ones the licensee writes: rate, length, and what happens at the end of the term. The SEG eligibility and requirements page covers the accreditation and metering conditions in more detail, and SEG export rates covers what individual suppliers pay.

Export rates: what a kilowatt-hour sent to the grid is worth

Suppliers can set their own SEG tariff rates, provided they offer more than £0 per unit of metered exported power⁷. As of June 2026, SEG payments can reach up to 25 pence per kWh, which is comparable to the unit rate of electricity⁷. That ceiling is a reported maximum across the market, not a rate any particular household is entitled to.

The floor is the more important structural fact. A rate above zero is the only price condition the scheme imposes, so the spread between the best and worst offers is a matter of commercial choice by licensees rather than a regulated band⁷. The rate, contract length and other terms are determined by the licensee⁵. Details of SEG payments, including the amount due and the contract length, are likewise determined by the chosen SEG licensee¹.

Some suppliers offer deals with alternative payment models, but generators are entitled to payments based upon actual meter readings even where such deals exist¹. That entitlement is the backstop: whatever a supplier's preferred model, the metered basis is available.

For a household, the practical consequence is that the export rate is a contract term to be read, not a published national figure to be assumed. The rate applies to metered exported units, so the value of the arrangement depends on both the rate and the volume exported, and the volume depends on the size of the installation, the household's own use, and whether a battery is present. Smart Export Guarantee rates sets out how the offers differ between suppliers, and fixed vs variable export rates covers the difference between a rate that is fixed for a term and one that moves.

How battery storage changes your exports and your payments

An energy storage system does not block a SEG application. Guidance from the Energy Saving Trust states that a household with an energy storage system can still apply, and gives the example that a battery could store electricity from the grid before exporting it later¹⁸. Ofgem's guidance on co-location of electricity storage and hydrogen production under the RO, FIT, REGO and SEG was updated to include an appendix on the co-location of battery storage with installations receiving a SEG tariff²².

The battery changes the economics rather than the eligibility. Export volume is what the meter records, and a battery allows a household to decide when that export happens, including exporting stored grid electricity rather than only surplus generation¹⁸. Because payments are based on actual export meter readings, the meter is the arbiter of what is paid¹.

That restriction is the boundary to watch. A battery does not create a second claim on the same installation, and a generator cannot stack SEG payments from two licensees for one installation⁶. Where a household has an accredited FIT installation, the position is different again: it cannot receive both FIT export and SEG payments, but it can opt out of FIT export payments and receive SEG payments instead while continuing to receive FIT generation payments¹⁸. The exporting from a home battery page covers the metering and co-location detail, and SEG payments for battery storage answers the narrower question.

Readings, statements and how payments are made

The licence conditions are explicit about the basis of payment: the SEG Licensee must calculate that SEG Payment using actual Export Meter Readings⁶. Ofgem's guidance for licensees states that SEG licensees should calculate SEG payments using actual meter readings²³. The licensee must take all reasonable steps to provide written confirmation of the Export Tariff as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving a request for SEG Payments⁶.

Statements should be readable. Energy Ombudsman guidance on billing explanations states that a statement of account should include start and end readings for billing periods, the tariff, VAT and payments received²⁴. That is the checklist a household can apply to a SEG statement: if the start and end readings are absent, the basis of the payment is not visible.

Payment frequency is set by the licensee rather than by the scheme. The amount due and the contract length are determined by the chosen SEG licensee¹. Ofgem's annual reporting gives the scale of the flow: payments totalling £1,664,969 were paid out to SEG Generators in 2021-22, described as a significant increase on the £1,664,969 in payments made and 24.4 GWh exported in SEG Year 2⁸. A total of 82,431 registrations received payment for their exported electricity by the end of the reporting period⁹.

The obligations on licensees are listed together in Ofgem's reporting: offering at least one SEG tariff to eligible installations, assessing eligibility, making SEG payments based on export meter readings, handling complaints, and providing data to Ofgem on tariff offerings, uptake and payments⁴. A household that cannot get a reading reflected in a payment, or cannot get a statement that shows the readings, is dealing with a failure against that list.

Switching export supplier, and what happens when the import supply changes

The SEG supplier does not have to be the same company that provides the home's energy¹⁸. A household can apply for a SEG tariff with any SEG licensee, and the licensee does not need to be the same company as the current energy supplier¹. It can choose to use separate companies for SEG payments, electricity supply and gas supply¹.

That separation is the main independence the scheme offers. The export contract can be moved without moving the import supply, and the import supply can be moved without disturbing the export contract, because the two are separate commercial relationships with separate licensees. The Smart Export Guarantee page covers the scheme as a whole, and Good Energy vs Octopus SEG compares two named offers.

Where the import supplier fails, the process is automatic. Ofgem states that a household does not need to do anything if its current supplier goes out of business, and that it will be moved automatically to a new supplier with supply not interrupted²⁵. Under an Energy Supply Administration Order, a household can switch to another supplier without any exit fees²⁶. The SEG relationship sits with its own licensee, so the failure of an import supplier is not the same event as the failure of a SEG licensee.

SEG payments are not linked to other financial support around renewable energy installations, so eligible households could combine SEG payments with other financial support¹⁸. That is a statement about the scheme's design rather than about any particular household's position, and the terms of any other support determine whether it applies.

Where SEG came from and the rules behind it

The SEG is governed by the Smart Export Guarantee Order 2019 and Conditions 57 and 58 of the Standard Conditions of the Electricity Supply Licence¹⁰. It came into force on 1 January 2020 under that Order⁴. The Order introduces the SEG and provides for payments to be made by mandated electricity suppliers to small-scale low-carbon generators exporting electricity to the grid².

The scheme replaced the Feed-in Tariff, which closed to new applications in April 2019⁷. The Feed-in Tariff scheme itself had a 5MW total installed capacity limit for solar photovoltaic, wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion, and Ofgem processed applications and granted accreditations for non-micro wind and solar PV installations with declared net capacity over 50kW, all anaerobic digestion and hydro installations, and community and school applicants¹³. The Feed-in Tariff scheme closed to new applications, and the SEG took over the export payment role³.

The policy was consulted on before it was made. The government consultation on the future for small-scale low-carbon generation set out that smaller suppliers could opt to voluntarily provide a SEG tariff but must adhere to the rules and guidance associated with the SEG¹². The draft licence modifications required to implement the SEG were published as Part B of that consultation²⁸. The government's announcement of the new laws described the obligation as applying to energy suppliers with over 150,000 customers, covering more than 90% of the retail market, with an implementation date of 31 December 2019 for mandated suppliers¹¹.

Ofgem's role is administrative: it has been appointed to administer the SEG on behalf of government in line with the policy design, and it publishes guidance, the licensee list and the annual report⁹. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is responsible for the SEG policy⁴. For a household, the lineage explains the shape of the scheme: a licence obligation to pay for metered export, a rate set by each licensee, and an administrator that publishes who is offering what.