Be Wise › Solar Wise guides › Solar FAQs › Export payments and the Smart Export Guarantee
How the Smart Export Guarantee works, whether you need MCS, what suppliers pay and whether it applies in Northern Ireland.
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The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) requires licensed electricity suppliers to offer export tariffs to small-scale low-carbon generators, including solar PV up to 5 MW, for electricity they export to the grid. You apply to a supplier that offers a SEG tariff. The supplier decides the rate and contract length, but the tariff must always be above zero pence per kilowatt hour.
Sources: Ofgem: Smart Export Guarantee, guidance for generators
Most suppliers require it. The Energy Saving Trust says most energy suppliers want a valid MCS certificate to prove the installation meets a certain standard, and without one you cannot normally sell electricity under the SEG. Some suppliers may allow it on particular tariffs without a certificate, so ask your supplier.
Rates are set by each supplier, so compare them. Ofgem's rule is that a SEG tariff must always pay more than zero pence per kilowatt hour exported, and that generators are entitled to payments based on actual meter readings, even if some suppliers offer other payment models.
Sources: Ofgem: Smart Export Guarantee, guidance for generators
The Smart Export Guarantee is an Ofgem scheme covering Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own regulator and supplier arrangements, so ask your supplier what, if anything, it pays for exported power.
Sources: Ofgem: Smart Export Guarantee, guidance for generators · NIE Networks (Northern Ireland electricity network), homepage
Not normally. Plug-in kits are designed for self-consumption, Citizens Advice says you cannot be paid for unused power under the current rules, and the Energy Saving Trust says suppliers generally need an MCS certificate. Your saving comes from using the power yourself.
Sources: Citizens Advice: six things to know before plug-in solar panels hit the shelves · Energy Saving Trust: Plug-in solar panels
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Open Be Solar WiseAll FAQsReviewed 2026-09-21. General information, not legal, electrical or financial advice. Confirm current rules before you buy or connect anything.
