Solar Panels Export Tariff
The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) pays homeowners and businesses for renewable electricity they generate but don’t use. It came into force in January 2020 and replaces the previous Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme.
The Smart Export Guarantee is a clean energy initiative set up by the government that rewards households and businesses in Great Britain for generating their own renewable electricity. The scheme allows customers who generate excess energy to send it to the national grid in exchange for a small payment. This scheme is an updated version of the Feed-in Tariff scheme which was cancelled a while back.
Rather than the government simply subsidising households and businesses for generating electricity, the SEG makes it so that energy suppliers e.g. British Gas, can buy surplus energy from the customer instead. Suppliers stipulate a price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the electricity that the customer generates and exports. Suppliers all offer a different rate for SEG in the same way they all offer a different rate for buying in electricity therefore, you can shop around to get the best rate. You don’t have to get your SEG tariff from the same supplier as your main electricity account.
You must also have an export meter to be able to send the electricity back to the grid. It’s important to note that you do not qualify to receive the Smart Export Guarantee if you already benefit from a Feed-in Tariff.