Best SEG Tariff UK October 2026: Every Rate Compared

Last Updated on October 20, 2026

The best SEG tariff in October 2026 depends on one question before you look at any rate: do you buy your electricity, or your solar and battery, from the company paying you? The big headline numbers of 15p to 25p a kWh all come with that tie. Without one, the best flat rate we found is 13p.

We checked each supplier’s own tariff page on 20 October 2026 and took Octopus’s rates from its published tariff data. We could not open ScottishPower’s or So Energy’s own pages, so those rows use a September 2026 comparison table and are marked †.

Quick answer: The highest export rates are Good Energy’s 25p, OVO’s and So Energy’s 20p, EDF’s 18p and E.ON Next’s 17.5p, but each needs you to buy solar from them. With no tie, the best flat rate is Fuse Energy’s 13p. Octopus Flux pays about 29p to 32p at peak if you have a battery.

Contents

0.1 Key takeaways

1 What is the best SEG tariff right now?
2 How do I choose the best SEG tariff?
- 2.1 If you already have solar panels
- 2.2 If you are buying solar and a battery now
3 Which export tariff is best with a home battery?
4 How much will the best SEG tariff pay me?
5 What has changed in the SEG market recently?
6 FAQs
7 Our Verdict
8 Sources

Key takeaways

Highest rates are tied: Good Energy 25p, OVO and So Energy 20p, EDF 18p and E.ON Next 17.5p all need a supplier-installed system.
No supplier tie: the best flat rate is 13p (Fuse Energy, variable). Octopus’s standalone SEG pays only 4.1p.
Existing customers: most big suppliers pay 12p to 13p if you also buy electricity from them.
Battery homes: Octopus Flux pays 28.9p to 31.75p from 4pm to 7pm, depending on region.
What it is worth: a 4 kWp system exporting 2,160 kWh earns £89 at 4.1p, £259 at 12p and £540 at 25p.

What is the best SEG tariff right now?

Rates are in pence per kWh exported, as of 20 October 2026. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) pays only for power you send to the grid, not power you use.

Supplier and tariff	Rate (p/kWh)	Type	Must buy electricity from them?	Must they install your system?	Battery needed?
Octopus Flux	28.9 to 31.75 at 4pm to 7pm, 10.6 to 11.64 daytime, 4.5 to 4.94 overnight	Variable, time-of-use	Yes	No	Yes
Good Energy Solar Savings Exclusive	25	Fixed 12 months, then 12	Yes	Yes (Good Energy Solar, JPS, Amelio or Empower)	Yes, solar and battery
OVO SEG Install Exclusive	Up to 20 (15 with panels only)	Not stated	Yes	Yes, OVO installs	Battery for the 20
So Energy So Bright†	20	Fixed 12 months, then 4.5	Yes	Yes	Yes, solar and battery
EDF Export Exclusive 12m V3†	18	12 months	Yes	Yes, bought from EDF after 2 March 2026	Solar, battery or both
E.ON Next Export Premium v3	17.5	Fixed 12 months	Yes	Yes, E.ON install from 10 November 2025	No
Octopus Prime Outgoing 12M Fixed	16 at 4pm to 7pm, 9 otherwise	Fixed 12 months	Yes	No	No
ScottishPower SmartGen Premium Plus†	15	Variable	Yes	Yes	Solar or battery from them
Octopus Agile Outgoing	15.7 average over 30 days (London)	Variable, half-hourly	Yes	No	No
Fuse Energy Single Rate Variable	13	Variable, reviewed quarterly	No	No	No
EDF Export 12m V2	13	Fixed 1 year	Yes, existing customers	No	No
E.ON Next Export Exclusive v3	13	Fixed 12 months	Yes (not time-of-use tariffs)	No	No
OVO SEG Beyond Exclusive	12	Not stated	Yes	No	No
Outgoing Octopus	12	Variable	Yes	No	No
Ecotricity Smart Export	12	Variable	Yes	No	No
British Gas Export Premium	12 (up to 15 kW)	Variable	Yes	No	No
Good Energy Solar Savings	12	Variable	Yes	No	No
ScottishPower SmartGen Premium†	12	Not stated	Yes	No	No

† ScottishPower and So Energy figures come from a September 2026 comparison table. EDF’s page is silent on whether its 18p tariff needs EDF import, and the same table says it does. The Agile figure is our 30-day average from Octopus’s tariff data. Other rows come from the suppliers’ own pages: Octopus, Good Energy, OVO, E.ON Next, EDF, British Gas, Fuse Energy and Ecotricity.

Every SEG tariff also needs an MCS-certified installation (or an equivalent such as Flexi-Orb) and a meter that records half-hourly exports. The lower-paying tariffs below have no supplier tie:

Open-to-all tariff	Rate (p/kWh)	Type
ScottishPower SmartGen†	6	Not stated
E.ON Next Flex Export	6	Variable
So Export Flex†	4.5	30-day rolling
Octopus SEG (export only)	4.1	Fixed
OVO SEG	4	Not stated
EDF SEG Export Variable	3	Variable
British Gas Export SEG (non-customers)	3	Variable

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How do I choose the best SEG tariff?

The best SEG tariff changes with where you are in the buying journey. Battery owners should skip to the next section.

If you already have solar panels

You are looking at the 12p to 13p band. Fuse Energy at 13p is the only flat rate in the table with no electricity or installer tie. If you already buy electricity from E.ON Next, its 13p Exclusive tariff is fixed for 12 months.

Under GOV.UK’s rules your SEG supplier does not need to be your energy supplier, so you can split import and export. Compare the two together, though, because a 12p export rate is no use if the same supplier’s import rate is 3p higher than a rival’s.

If you are buying solar and a battery now

This is where the 17.5p to 25p rates sit. Treat the export rate as one line in the quote rather than the reason to buy. Good Energy’s 25p is fixed for 12 months, then it moves to 12p, and So Energy’s 20p drops to 4.5p after the first year.

Ask each installer what the rate becomes in year two and what the whole package costs. Our guide to choosing a solar panel installer lists the questions.

Which export tariff is best with a home battery?

For a battery owner who is happy to buy electricity from Octopus, Octopus Flux is the best SEG tariff in the table. Its export rate is 28.9p to 31.75p from 4pm to 7pm, depending on your region, against 10.6p to 11.64p in the day and 4.5p to 4.94p from 2am to 5am. In London those are 30.31p, 11.11p and 4.72p, according to Octopus’s published tariff data, and the peak rate rose from 28.6p on 19 October.

Flux needs solar, a battery, an MCS certificate and a smart meter, and you must already be on Octopus import and export tariffs (Octopus). Our guide to home battery off-peak tariff savings shows how to charge the battery cheaply for it.

The trade-off is import: Flux import costs 37.38p at peak in London, so you want the battery full and exporting at 4pm to 7pm rather than buying. Intelligent Octopus Flux, which Which? recorded at up to 23p at peak in April, has been closed to new customers since March 2026.

Other suppliers keep it simpler: British Gas confirms that exports from battery storage qualify for its SEG payments. If you do not have a battery yet, our guides to adding a battery to an existing solar system and the best home battery storage in the UK are the place to start.

How much will the best SEG tariff pay me?

Take a 4 kWp system in the Midlands on a south-east or south-west roof at 35 degrees. The EU’s PVGIS tool puts its output at about 3,600 kWh a year. Good Energy’s smart meter data from more than 900 solar homes found about 60% of generation is exported, which is 2,160 kWh. With a 9 to 10 kWh battery, MCS data summarised by an installer price guide puts self-use at 74% to 76%, so we assume 900 kWh is exported.

Rate	Example tariff	No battery (2,160 kWh)	With battery (900 kWh)
4.1p	Octopus SEG	£89	£37
12p	Outgoing Octopus, British Gas	£259	£108
13p	Fuse Energy	£281	£117
17.5p	E.ON Next Premium	£378	£158
20p	OVO, So Energy	£432	£180
25p	Good Energy	£540	£225

Moving from 4.1p to 13p is worth about £190 a year for the same panels. A battery shrinks what you export, so it also shrinks the value of a high SEG rate. Battery owners should weigh what the battery saves on imports instead, as our guide on whether solar batteries are worth it explains.

What has changed in the SEG market recently?

Rates move often. Outgoing Octopus fell from 15p to 12p on 1 March 2026, according to the rate history in Octopus’s tariff data. Which? recorded Ecotricity at 16p in April, and its own page now shows 12p.

E.ON Next replaced Premium v2 with v3 at 17.5p on 10 November 2025, and EDF withdrew its older 12-month exclusive on 2 March 2026. Suppliers set their own terms. Ofgem requires only that an SEG rate is above zero and encourages generators to shop around. We refresh this table monthly.

Export income is one part of the sums. Our guides to whether solar panels are worth it and the solar payback period show how it fits the bigger picture, and solar panels vs the energy price cap covers the January rise.

FAQs

What is the best SEG tariff in the UK?

Good Energy pays the highest flat rate at 25p, but only if Good Energy Solar or a partner installed your panels and battery. Without a tie, Fuse Energy’s 13p variable tariff is the best flat rate, and Octopus Flux pays about 29p to 32p at peak for battery owners. Rates are as of 20 October 2026.

Do I have to be with the supplier to get their SEG rate?

Not always. GOV.UK says your SEG supplier does not need to supply your electricity. Fuse Energy, Octopus’s 4.1p SEG, OVO’s 4p SEG and EDF’s 3p variable tariff are open to anyone. Most of the better rates, from 12p upwards, do require you to buy electricity from the same supplier.

Do I need a smart meter and MCS for the Smart Export Guarantee?

Yes to both, in practice. GOV.UK requires an installation certified under MCS or an equivalent such as Flexi-Orb, plus a meter that records half-hourly exports, which a smart meter normally does. Payments are based on those export readings, and you cannot claim SEG if you already receive feed-in tariff export payments.

How much can I earn from SEG with a 4 kWp system?

A 4 kWp system generating about 3,600 kWh a year and exporting 60% sends 2,160 kWh to the grid. That earns roughly £89 at 4.1p, £259 at 12p, £281 at 13p and £540 at 25p. With a 9 to 10 kWh battery you export far less, around 900 kWh, so the same rates pay £37 to £225.

Can I get SEG payments if I have a home battery?

Yes. British Gas states that exports from battery storage qualify for its SEG payments, and GOV.UK says storage devices that can import and export may be used to benefit from the SEG. Time-of-use tariffs such as Octopus Flux are built for batteries and pay most at the 4pm to 7pm peak.

Is a fixed or variable SEG tariff better?

A fixed rate guarantees the price for the term, which suits you when the rate is high, such as E.ON Next’s 17.5p. Check what happens afterwards, because Good Energy’s 25p reverts to 12p and So Energy’s 20p to 4.5p. Variable tariffs like British Gas’s 12p can move up or down at any time.

Our Verdict

If you already have panels, take the 13p. Fuse Energy is the best SEG tariff for most homes because it asks you to change nothing else, and E.ON Next’s 13p Exclusive is the better pick if E.ON already supplies you. Avoid the 3p to 4.1p default tariffs, which cost a typical 4 kWp system about £190 to £215 a year against 13p.

If you are buying a system now, do not choose an installer for the export rate alone. The 17.5p to 25p rates last 12 months and then fall away, so compare the full quote and the year-two rate. Battery owners on Octopus should use Flux. You can get a free quote through Eco Happy and ask each installer which export tariff comes with it.

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