Good Energy launched a new smart export tariff, Solar Savings, in the week of the announcement on 18 October 2023, paying a flat 15p per kWh for electricity exported to the grid1. The rate is a 50 per cent increase on the 10p per kWh offered under the pilot of the tariff, which launched earlier in the year1. Customers who had a solar installation through Good Energy's subsidiary Wessex ECOEnergy and are on Good Energy's Standard Variable Tariff are offered a further enhanced rate of 20p per kWh1.
The tariff is available to households supplied by Good Energy on its Standard Variable Tariff which have a second-generation smart meter1. Good Energy said solar power sharing households not registered for the Feed-in Tariff can expect to earn over £200 annually1. It described the 15p rate as among the best available on the market, and the 20p rate as level with the highest flat rate smart export tariff available1.
| Customer group | Export rate |
|---|---|
| Good Energy SVT customers with a second-generation smart meter | 15p per kWh |
| Wessex ECOEnergy solar installation customers on Good Energy's SVT | 20p per kWh |
| Previous pilot rate | 10p per kWh |
Good Energy said it has over 180,000 small-scale solar generators and is the UK's second largest administrator of the Feed-in Tariff, the government scheme for paying solar powered households which closed to new sign ups in 20191. It began offering smart export to customers in late 2022 and already has over 40,000 signed up, expecting up to 70,000 by the end of the year1.
"We think households generating their own clean power are undervalued. The electricity that the 1.3 million homes with solar installations are sharing back with the grid in the UK is enough to power more than a million more. They are solar superheroes and should be properly rewarded."
Why it matters for households
For a home with solar panels, the export rate sets what the grid pays for each unit of surplus electricity sent out rather than used on site. Good Energy's own figure for non-FiT solar households is over £200 annually1. The 20p rate for Wessex ECOEnergy customers is higher again on each exported unit.
Export earnings sit alongside the savings from using generated electricity at home, which Good Energy describes as the first benefit of having solar on a roof1. Households already registered for the Feed-in Tariff receive separate payments under that closed scheme, so the earnings figure quoted applies to those not registered for it1. Eligibility here depends on being on Good Energy's Standard Variable Tariff and having a second-generation smart meter, so a household on a fixed tariff with the same supplier, or with an older meter, would not qualify on the terms described1. The rate is flat, meaning the same price applies at all times of day rather than varying with wholesale prices. How Solar Savings compares with other suppliers' Smart Export Guarantee rates is not set out in the announcement1.
What happens next
Good Energy said it expects up to 70,000 customers signed up to smart export by the end of the year, against over 40,000 at the time of the announcement1. No closing date for the Solar Savings rates, and no date at which the rates might change, has been reported1.