Can I receive SEG payments for electricity exported from a battery?

What changes with a battery is the volume, not the principle. Which? reports that having a storage battery reduces exports and therefore payments, and that a battery may render a household ineligible for some SEG tariffs³. Home Energy Scotland puts the trade-off plainly: installing battery storage lowers the amount exported and so reduces export payments, but overall savings are greater than relying on export payments alone⁴.

Rates vary widely. Ofgem's scheme rules leave the rate, contract length and other terms to each SEG licensee¹, and independent surveys put the range at 1p to 25p per kWh⁵. A total of 270,395 installations were registered to a SEG tariff at the end of March 2025⁷.

What the SEG pays for and who pays it

The Smart Export Guarantee obliges licensed electricity suppliers above a threshold to offer a tariff for electricity exported to the grid, and to pay for it. Ofgem's scheme rules state that SEG generators are paid by their chosen SEG licensee for the electricity which they export back to the National Grid¹⁰. The payment obligation sits in the supply licence: Standard Condition 57 provides that a SEG licensee, whether mandatory or voluntary, shall make SEG payments to SEG generators in accordance with Schedule A¹¹.

The government does not make the payments. Uswitch's guidance is explicit that the government does not make FIT or SEG payments, and that energy suppliers signed up to either scheme are responsible for administering it and making payments¹². Ofgem's own annual report describes the scheme as a route for households to receive payments from electricity suppliers, known as SEG licensees, for the electricity they export¹³.

Two features matter for a household with a battery. First, the rate is not set centrally: SEG licensees determine the rate, contract length and other terms which SEG generators will receive¹. Second, the supplier relationship is flexible: you can choose to use separate companies for your SEG payments, electricity supply and gas supply if you wish¹⁰. That separation is what allows an export tariff to be matched with an import tariff from a different company, a point developed below.

The scheme replaced the Feed-in Tariff for new applicants. The Energy Saving Trust notes that the SEG replaced FIT but also pays for electricity exported to the grid¹⁴. For a battery owner, the practical consequence is that the export side of the arrangement is governed by a supplier contract rather than a legacy scheme, and that contract's terms, including whether storage is accepted, are the supplier's to set.

Yes, battery storage can qualify, provided the metering can measure exports

The eligibility test is about measurement, not about the battery itself. Ofgem's scheme closure guidance states that all installations eligible for the FIT scheme are also eligible for the SEG, provided they are fitted with an export or smart meter capable of taking measurements at half-hourly intervals¹. The Energy Saving Trust confirms that a household with an energy storage system can still apply for the SEG².

Where a battery is added to an existing accredited installation, the metering must separate the sources. Ofgem's co-location guidance, aimed at participants in the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin and Smart Export Guarantee who are considering co-locating electricity storage with an accredited station or installation, sets the framework¹⁵. For a FIT installation with added storage or EV charging, the meter must be able to measure the amount of electricity generated or exported from the installation separately from any other source, unless pro-rating is allowable¹⁶.

The same principle appears in the FIT generator rules: you must be able to measure the electricity generated, and exported if applicable, by the installation separately from all other sources to receive generation payments and metered export payments³. A battery that shares a meter with the rest of the house, or that cannot be distinguished from grid import, creates exactly the measurement problem these rules are designed to prevent.

Eligibility: smart meters, evidence and the FIT overlap

Three conditions do most of the work: a smart meter, documentary evidence, and a clean position on any existing Feed-in Tariff.

On metering, Ofgem states that SEG payments are calculated by using export meter readings¹, and the Parliamentary briefing on the scheme records that generators must have a smart meter to monitor exports in order to qualify⁸. Uswitch's solar guidance repeats the requirement: you must have a smart meter to sign up for SEG¹⁷. MCS Certified explains the function: a smart meter can record electricity sold back to the grid, which is needed for consumers to get paid through schemes such as the SEG¹⁸. Smart meter eligibility for installation may vary by supplier and region¹⁹, and the programme excludes Northern Ireland²¹.

On evidence, applications typically require your smart meter data and an MCS certificate²². Guidance for installations with battery storage states that proper evidence will be needed to verify energy eligibility for SEG payments²³. Where a battery is added to an existing FIT installation, the separate-measurement rule described above applies¹⁶.

On the FIT overlap, the rule is a bar on double payment for the same electricity. Ofgem states that you cannot receive both SEG payments and FIT export payments for the same electricity³. The Energy Saving Trust sets out the route: you cannot get both FIT export and SEG payments, but you can opt out of FIT export payments and receive SEG payments instead, while continuing to receive FIT generation payments until the end of your contract². Ofgem confirms the mechanism: to register for the SEG, you must first opt out of FIT export payments for your installation by contacting your FIT licensee³.

A further wrinkle affects legacy deemed exports. Ofgem states that if you currently receive deemed export payments, these will stop and you will instead receive export payments for the amount of electricity recorded by the meter exported to the grid³. For a battery household, that shift from a deemed assumption to metered measurement is the point at which the battery's effect on export volume becomes financially visible.

Export rates: 1p to 25p per kWh, and why they sit below import prices

There is no single SEG rate. Ofgem's rules leave the rate to each licensee¹, and the published range is wide. Which? reports rates from as little as 1p/kWh to as much as 25p/kWh depending on supplier and tariff⁵, and its separate survey of SEG tariffs gives the same 1p to 25p span⁶. The Centre for Sustainable Energy puts the average at around 12p/kWh⁹. The Parliamentary briefing records that, as of June 2026, SEG payments can reach up to 25 pence per kWh, which it describes as comparable to the unit rate of electricity⁸. The Centre for Alternative Technology notes that some suppliers offer 15 pence or more per kWh but some pay much less²⁴.

The gap between export and import prices is structural. Which? states that SEG rates are often less than what you pay for electricity, and advises shopping around²⁶. That is the arithmetic a battery household faces: every kilowatt-hour kept in the battery and used at home avoids an import at the retail rate, while every kilowatt-hour exported earns the SEG rate. Where the export rate is 1p and the import rate is many times that, self-consumption is worth more per unit than export. Where a supplier pays 25p, the comparison narrows.

Rates also differ by contract type. The Energy Saving Trust explains that a fixed SEG tariff pays a set rate per kWh of electricity exported over the length of the contract². Variable tariffs move. Solar Energy UK's listing shows a variable tariff with no fixed end date at 15p²⁵. The choice between fixed and variable export rates is its own decision, covered in fixed vs variable export rates.

How a battery changes what you export, and what you earn

A battery does not increase the amount of electricity a solar array generates. It changes where that electricity goes. The Parliamentary briefing, citing Great British Energy, records that adding a battery to a solar installation increases self-consumption from 30 to 40% to 70 to 80%⁸. Electricity used in the home is electricity not exported, so the export meter records less.

Which? states the consequence directly: your exports, and therefore your payments, reduce if you have a storage battery, and a storage battery may render you ineligible for some SEG tariffs³. Home Energy Scotland frames the same trade-off: installing battery storage will lower the amount you export, meaning you will get less money from export payments, but overall savings are greater than relying on export payments⁴.

The Energy Saving Trust describes the residual export route: surplus solar electricity can be sold back to your energy supplier through a SEG tariff when the battery is full²⁷. That is the sequence in practice. The battery absorbs the surplus first, the home draws from it later, and only what exceeds both the immediate load and the battery's capacity reaches the grid.

The wider case for storage rests on bill reduction rather than export income. Government analysis states that installing solar PV and battery storage, alongside a heat pump, can significantly lower bills in all cases²⁸. Home Energy Scotland reports that the savings from solar PV with the SEG are considerably higher than without²⁹. For a household weighing independence, the battery shifts the balance away from selling to the grid and towards consuming what the roof produces, which reduces exposure to import prices but also reduces the income the export tariff would have produced.

Choosing an SEG tariff when you have storage

The first filter is whether a tariff accepts battery storage at all. Which? reports that some tariffs exclude it³, and Solar Energy UK's tariff listing records supplier terms on this point, including tariffs marked as accepting battery storage and others marked unknown²⁵. A tariff that pays well but excludes storage is not available to a battery household, whatever its headline rate.

The second consideration is the pairing of import and export. Ofgem confirms that you can use separate companies for SEG payments, electricity supply and gas supply¹⁰, which means the best combination is often an export tariff from one supplier and an import tariff from another. The Energy Saving Trust suggests a dedicated solar and battery tariff, or a good SEG tariff matched with a dynamic import tariff or an Economy 7 tariff³⁰. It also notes that a solar panel and battery tariff can be especially useful if a solar system is bigger than average or a heat pump smaller than average, where a good SEG rate is not available from a company with a good import tariff³⁰.

Some tariffs are tied to a particular installation route. Solar Energy UK's listing records an OVO Energy tariff described as exclusive to solar and battery installed by OVO²⁵. Others are open to any MCS-certified installation. The application itself is a documentary exercise: the supplier's SEG form, your smart meter data and your MCS certificate²².

For a household, the independence question is what remains dependent. The battery reduces reliance on imported electricity for the hours it covers, and the export tariff converts any surplus into income from a supplier rather than a payment for generation. What remains is the grid connection, the supplier relationship, and the fact that the export rate is set by that supplier's contract rather than by a fixed national rate. The scheme's own figures show how many households have taken that route: 270,395 installations were registered to a SEG tariff at the end of March 2025⁷. Ofgem's earlier annual report records the scheme's purpose as paying households for electricity exported to the National Grid¹³, and the licence condition behind it remains the obligation on licensees to pay¹¹.