If you have solar panels or are thinking of installing them, you have probably heard of the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).

The SEG launched on 1 January 2020 and is a government-backed initiative. 

The SEG requires all UK energy suppliers to pay those who generate low-carbon electricity when they export it back to national grid.

This of course includes the electricity generated from domestic solar panels.

So how much can you expect to earn? Here we compare the current rates you can expect…

Smart Export Guarantee Rates UK 2022

The table below shows the current rates currently on offer, bear in mind that the table will be updated regularly in line with price changes.

	Supplier	Tariff Name	Tariff Type	Tariff Length	Tariff Rate (/kW)	Payment Cycle	Includes Battery Storage	Must be on supplier import tariff
1	Social Energy	Social Energy Hub	No longer offers SEG tariff	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	Tesla	Tesla Energy Plan¹	Fixed	Unknown	12.0p	Unknown	Yes (must be Tesla Powerwall)	Yes (Octopus Energy)
3	Tesla	Tesla Energy Plan²	Fixed	Unknown	10.0p	Unknown	Yes (must be Tesla Powerwall)	Yes (Octopus Energy)
4	Social Energy	Smarter Export	No longer offers SEG tariff	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	Bulb Energy	Export Payments	Fixed	No fixed end date	5.57p	3 months	Yes	Yes
6	Octopus Energy	Outgoing Fixed	Fixed	12-month fixed term	7.5p	Monthly	Yes	Yes
–	E.ON Energy	Next Export Exclusive	Fixed	12-month fixed term	5.5p	Unknown	Unknown	Yes
8	OVO Energy	OVO SEG Tariff	Fixed	12-month fixed term	4.0p	3 months	Dependent on Installation	No
–	ScottishPower	Smart Export Variable Tariff	Currently Fixed	No fixed end date	5.5p	6 months	Unknown	No
10	SSE	Smart Export Tariff	Fixed	No fixed end date	3.5p	12 months	Unknown	Yes
–	Shell Energy	SEG V1Tariff	Currently Fixed	No fixed end date	3.5p	12 months	Unknown	Yes
12	British Gas	Export & Earn Flex	Currently Fixed	No fixed end date	3.2p	6 months	Yes	No
13	E.ON Energy	Next Export	Fixed	12-month fixed term	3.0p	Unknown	Unknown	No
14	Utility Warehouse	UW Smart Export Guarantee	Fixed	No fixed end date	2.0p	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
15	EDF Energy	Export+Earn	Fixed	12-month fixed term	1.5p	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown

Table last updated September 2022.

How much money will you save with solar panels?

A new solar panel system can save you around half of your electricity bill on average and the financial gains to be made are even more impressive with the new Energy Price Cap taking effect.

For example, the average household with a 4.2 kW solar system could save you as much as £514 a year on your energy bills (based on the new October price cap).

If you also use a solar battery, you could save even more, in fact, without one around 50% is returned back to the National Grid.

So by using a solar battery you could save an extra £230 on average or sell the energy back to the grid using the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).

The SEG allows you sell the energy you generate back to the grid and depending on the supplier you choose you could sell it at 7.5p for every kilowatt hour (kWh).

Therefore, to conclude you could save as much as £744 a year for the average sized home (that’s the £514 from the energy generation itself and £230 in SEG revenues you’ll generate for the year).