If I have a Feed in Tariff, do I need a Smart Export Guarantee too

If you receive a ‘feed-in-tariff’ you do not need the smart export guarantee.

The Smart Export Guarantee is for installations which have been registered since the ‘Feed-in tariff’ ended.

This allows you to be paid for the excess electricity which you export to the grid.

All of the main Electricity suppliers offer SEG’s

Some are fixed price, some are variable.

Variable tariffs vary depending on how valuable the export is to the grid at different times.

The price you are paid will not fall below zero at any point.

Variable tariffs are offered to encourage customers to shift their electricity usage away from peak times and to encourage export when the electricity system needs more power.

Export rates may change 1/2 hourly and a smart meter records the amount and time of your export, or they could be day, night or weekend rates.

You can get an SEG to sell your own electricity if you have:
  • Solar
  • A battery storage device linked to your renewable system
  • Battery Storage only
  • An electric vehicle that has the ability to import & export electricity

Some suppliers may want to differentiate between payments for ‘Green’ electricity (meaning power coming from solar panels only) or whether payments can be made for so called ‘Brown’ electricity (drawn from the grid) passing through your storage system.

Will my system qualify for an SEG?

To benefit from the SEG, you (the exporter) will need to demonstrate that your equipment and its installation has been adequately certified.

This means that your supplier and all of the equipment used needs to be MCS certified and you need to have a smart meter approved by your supplier.

Common Sense Energy are certified to supply and fit your Solar PV to an unlimited size on commercial systems.

How much will you get?

This depends on which supplier and which tariff you choose.

You wont be paid for any electricity that you use yourself

(But you will save money by importing less energy from the grid)

You may be offered a more attractive rate if you buy and sell to the same supplier

(or if you buy both gas and electricity from them)

All large energy suppliers have been obligated to offer SEG’s since 1st January 2020 to anyone who is eligible and has an MCS certified renewable energy system.

SEG Top Tariffs (November 2023)

  1. Octopus Energy Octopus Flux (24p/Kwh)
  2. Octopus energy Outgoing Fixed (15p/Kwh)
  3. Scottish Power Smart Gen+ (15p/Kwh)
  4. Scottish Power Smart Gen (12p/Kwh)