Octopus Energy completed its acquisition of Bulb in June 2023, Ofgem's Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) annual report for SEG Year 4 records1. Bulb had been put into special administration following insolvency in 20211. The same report notes that Shell Energy was officially acquired by Octopus on 1 December 20231.
The report covers the SEG's fourth year, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, and is published by Ofgem, which administers the scheme on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero1. The SEG came into force on 1 January 2020 under the Smart Export Guarantee Order 2019, and has been a licensee-led initiative since its launch1. It requires participating suppliers to offer at least one export tariff to any eligible small-scale generator1.
"Octopus' complete acquisition of Bulb in June 2023"
The report's figures cover the export market rather than supply. Thirteen SEG licensees provided or offered support to generators via 42 different tariffs during SEG Year 4, of which 21 were bundled, for example with conditions on the purchase or use of certain products1. A total of 283,666 installations were registered to a SEG tariff during 2023 to 2024, more than a threefold increase from the 92,946 installations reported in 2022 to 20231. Those installations had a combined total installed capacity of 1,563.2 MW, equivalent to 3.5% of peak UK electricity demand1.
Payments totalling £30.7 million were paid to SEG generators in 2023 to 2024, a 327% increase compared with the £7.2 million paid in 2022 to 20231. The 238.1 GWh of low carbon electricity exported during the year was enough to power 88,198 typical UK homes for a year1. Since the start of the scheme, over £39 million has been paid to SEG generators for the export of 342 GWh of low-carbon electricity1.
On compliance, the report states that one supplier submitted its data late on 1 July, and that four licensees submitted erroneous data to Ofgem1. From SEG Year 5, Ofgem will be undertaking enhanced compliance activity to ensure SEG licensees are complying with their obligations1.
Why it matters for households
Bulb's customers had already been transferred during the supplier's special administration, and the June 2023 completion of Octopus's acquisition closed that process1. For a household, the practical effect sits in who holds the supply relationship, the account terms and the supplier's customer service record rather than in any change to the physical supply of electricity.
The SEG figures in the same report describe the other side of the meter. A home with solar panels or other eligible small-scale generation can be paid for exporting low-carbon electricity, and the number of tariffs on offer has grown from 21 in the scheme's first year to 42 in SEG Year 41. Ofgem describes the scheme as developing a competitive market in which suppliers must offer innovative tariff designs and fair prices to remain attractive to customers1. That competition is the mechanism by which a household's own generation contributes to its energy independence, alongside the choice of who supplies the electricity it imports.
The report does not set out what the acquisition means for former Bulb customers' tariffs, contract terms or account arrangements, and no such detail has been reported in it1.
What happens next
From SEG Year 5, Ofgem will be undertaking enhanced compliance activity to ensure SEG licensees are complying with their obligations1. The report also records that Ofgem will continue engagement with suppliers to ensure they are performing well against their obligations, and will work with underperforming suppliers so that consumers are not adversely affected1.
Sources1 cited
- SEG Annual Report - SEG Year 4, ofgem.gov.uk