MCS, grants and export
Why UK Solar Export Rates Are Falling and What to Do About It
Smart Export Guarantee rates that once reached 15p and higher have been cut across the board. E.ON dropped from 16.5p to 6p. Octopus cut its flat Outgoing rate from 15p to 12p. The cause is structural: most solar generation happens at exactly the hours the grid least needs it. This guide explains what is driving the cuts and, more usefully, what you can do to keep your system financially competitive.
1. Why export rates are falling
The Smart Export Guarantee requires large energy suppliers to pay for solar electricity exported to the grid, but Ofgem sets no minimum rate. Historically, suppliers linked their SEG rates loosely to daytime wholesale electricity prices, which were reasonable when the UK had relatively little rooftop solar. The situation has changed substantially.
The UK now has over 15 GW of installed rooftop solar. On a sunny summer weekday, UK-wide solar generation peaks around midday at the same time as household demand is lowest (most people are out). This means wholesale electricity prices regularly fall close to zero, or even turn negative, between about 10am and 3pm in summer. Suppliers paying 15p for electricity that is worth zero or less in the wholesale market are effectively subsidising solar owners at other customers' expense. The cuts to flat-rate SEG tariffs are suppliers unwinding that cross-subsidy, not a reversal of support for solar.
2. Check what you are earning and compare what else is available
Log in to your energy account and find the unit rate on your current SEG tariff. If you were on E.ON's export tariff before November 2025 and have not switched, you may now be receiving 6p rather than the 16.5p that appeared in the financial case you saw when the system was quoted. Octopus Outgoing Octopus moved to 12p from March 2026. British Gas and several others made similar reductions in the same period.
Comparing rates is straightforward: the Energy Saving Trust and Ofgem's own SEG comparison page list current rates from all obligated suppliers. You can switch SEG supplier independently of your import tariff at any time. Some smaller suppliers and specialist tariffs still offer rates above 12p for flat-rate exports. If you have a half-hourly export meter, also check whether a time-varying export tariff, where evening exports earn more and midday ones earn less, would better match your battery's behaviour.
3. Prioritise self-consumption over export
The most effective response to lower export rates is to use more of what your panels generate. A unit consumed directly from your solar panels avoids paying import rates, currently 22p to 30p or more depending on your tariff. The same unit exported at today's flat SEG rates earns a fraction of that. The maths has always favoured self-consumption, but the gap has widened significantly as export rates have fallen.
Practical steps: run your dishwasher, washing machine, and tumble dryer during the middle of the day when generation is highest. If you have an immersion heater, a solar diverter will automatically send surplus generation to it, which is free hot water rather than 12p from the grid. If you have an EV, setting it to charge from solar during daylight hours (most EV charger apps offer a "solar only" or "solar boost" mode) is one of the highest-value uses of daytime generation.
4. Optimise your battery charge schedule
Review how your battery is configured. On most hybrid inverter apps the settings are accessible without any electrical work. The key parameters are: what state of charge should the battery target by the end of the day, what import price is worth buying cheap overnight electricity (to leave room to absorb full solar generation the next day), and whether the battery is set to export at all, or only to cover household loads.
On a flat-rate import tariff, the default battery-first setting works well enough. On a time-of-use tariff such as Octopus Agile or Intelligent, there is typically a cheap overnight window (sometimes as low as 2p or 3p per kWh) and an expensive peak window (typically 4pm to 7pm). A well-configured battery charges cheaply overnight, then absorbs solar generation during the day and covers the evening peak from storage rather than the grid. Setting the morning charge target low enough to leave room for solar is the most common configuration mistake on systems with smart tariffs.
5. Consider time-varying export tariffs for higher evening rates
As the daytime grid becomes chronically oversupplied in summer, some suppliers are moving toward time-varying export rates that better reflect when the grid actually needs electricity. Octopus Agile export, for example, tracks half-hourly wholesale prices, which means evening exports in summer can pay well above flat-rate SEG. The trade-off is that midday exports may pay next to nothing on a sunny day when wholesale prices are already at zero.
This approach works best for households with a properly sized battery: generate at midday, store it, cover evening use from storage, and export any remaining surplus in the late afternoon when prices recover. If your system generates significantly more than you can store or consume, a flat-rate tariff with a reasonable rate may still be simpler. Run the numbers using a tool such as the one at energy-stats.uk, which allows you to model your actual generation and consumption data against multiple tariff options.
FAQs
Which UK energy supplier currently offers the best solar export rate?
Rates change regularly, so check directly with suppliers rather than relying on any guide. As of mid-2026, better flat-rate SEG tariffs sit between 12p and 15p from some specialist providers. Octopus Outgoing Octopus is 12p. Tariffs linked to market prices can pay more in the late afternoon and evening but very little at midday when solar generation across the country peaks. The Energy Stats UK website (energy-stats.uk) publishes regularly updated SEG rate comparisons.
Will UK solar export rates keep falling?
The structural pressure is real. As more rooftop solar is installed, midday generation grows and the grid is already oversupplied at those hours from spring to autumn. Ofgem's direction of travel is toward time-varying pricing that makes midday export less valuable and evening export more valuable. New solar buyers should build their financial case around self-consumption and a modestly sized battery rather than basing it on flat export rates from 2022 or 2023.
Is it now better to store solar electricity than export it?
For most households, yes. A unit stored in a battery and used in the evening avoids buying grid electricity at import rates of 22p to 30p. A unit exported at current flat SEG rates of 6p to 12p earns significantly less. The financial case for battery storage has strengthened as export rates have fallen. The exception is when your battery is already full by midday: in that case, any additional generation has no better option than the grid, so a reasonable export tariff still has value at the margin. The right configuration is battery-first, then export.