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Export ratesWhat to check before switching supplier when you have solar
Switching electricity supplier is normally a five minute job. With solar on the roof there are four things to check before you press the button, and one of them can quietly cost you more than the switch saves.
Updated 4 August 2026 · from the OVO Solar & Battery team
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Import and export are two separate contracts
Switching your electricity supply does not automatically cancel your export payments. Export is its own arrangement, with its own tariff, its own meter reading and often its own supplier. What a switch can do is break the condition your export rate depends on, and that is where the money goes.
The saving is on one side, the loss is on the other
A comparison site prices your import. It does not price what you are paid for export, and it has no idea that the rate you hold is conditional on staying where you are. Work out both numbers before you move, because for a household with solar and a battery the export side is often the bigger of the two.
Check one: what your export rate is conditioned on
Most of the export rates worth having require you to import your electricity from the same supplier. Leave, and you drop to whatever open rate you qualify for. The genuinely no-strings rates sit at 3p to 6p, so the fall can be steep.
| Export tariff | Rate | The condition attached |
|---|---|---|
| Octopus, Outgoing Octopus | 12p flat | Octopus import customer with a compatible smart meter. The rate is variable and can change with notice. |
| British Gas, Export Premium | 12p | British Gas electricity customers, systems up to 15kW, paid quarterly. Non-customers fall back to Export SEG at 3p. |
| E.ON Next, Next Export Exclusive v3 | 13p | E.ON Next import customers, up to 15kW. Time-of-use import tariffs are specifically excluded. |
| EDF, Export 12m | 15p | Existing residential EDF electricity customers, one year fixed. EDF's open rate, SEG Export Variable, is 3.0p. |
| OVO, SEG Install Exclusive | Up to 20p | OVO installs the solar and the battery, you take your electricity from OVO, system under 30kW. 15p where it is solar only with no battery. |
Rates and conditions taken from published supplier export tariff pages, all checked 3 August 2026. Export rates and their conditions change several times a year, so confirm directly with the supplier before you decide.
Put a number on it before you switch. Every 1,000 kWh you export is worth £120 at 12p and £30 at 3p. That is a £90 gap per 1,000 kWh, every year, for as long as the system runs. A £5 a month saving on import does not cover it.
Check two: the evidence pack a new supplier will ask for
- Your MCS certificate. This is the document proving the installation was certified. Every supplier's export tariff asks for it or for a recognised equivalent. British Gas names an MCS certificate, a Flexi-Orb certificate or equivalent accreditation. OVO asks for MCS certification or equivalent.
- Proof of your grid connection. British Gas also asks for G98 or G99 confirmation from your Distribution Network Operator, which is the paperwork showing your system was properly notified to the network.
- Battery schematics. Where storage is fitted, expect to be asked for a system schematic. OVO requires this, because the supplier needs to know what can push power onto the network and when.
- Your MPAN numbers. You have an import MPAN, and once export is set up you have a separate export MPAN. Have both to hand before you start the application.
- A dated meter photograph. Take one of your export reading on the day the old arrangement ends and the day the new one starts. It is the cheapest insurance available.
Find the pack before you switch, not after
The MCS certificate is usually handed over at commissioning and then never looked at again. If you cannot find yours, the company that fitted the system is the first place to ask. Chasing missing paperwork after you have already moved supplier is what turns a four week onboarding into a three month one, with no export income in between.
Check three: your meter
The Smart Export Guarantee pays on measured export, not on an estimate. Ofgem's rules require payments to be calculated from export meter readings taken by half-hourly capable metering, so a smart meter that records export every 30 minutes is a condition of being paid at all. British Gas states it directly, alongside quarterly payment within 28 days of the reading. Not every meter qualifies with every supplier either: Octopus lists SMETS2 and most, though not all, first generation SMETS1 meters as compatible with Outgoing Octopus. If yours is an early one, get written confirmation from the incoming supplier that they can read it before you commit.
If you are weighing a switch against getting solar and a battery fitted properly in the first place, the free 45 minute remote video design puts real numbers on both. No home visit, and you get a written quote on the call.
Get your free quote →Check four: whether a Feed-in Tariff is still in play
Older installations may still be on the Feed-in Tariff, and the rules there are strict. SEG payments cannot be combined with FiT export payments, so moving to a SEG tariff means swapping one for the other rather than adding to it. Octopus goes further and states that anyone who started receiving FiT payments in the last 12 months cannot switch their export arrangement at all while those rules apply. Check the date your FiT payments began before you plan anything.
Allow for the gap between the two switches
Move the import supply
A standard import switch is quick and well practised. Do not assume the export side lands at the same time, because it will not.
Apply for the export tariff
OVO puts its SEG signup at around four weeks, and it needs MCS certification or equivalent, a smart meter and battery schematics where a battery is fitted.
Wait on the export MPAN
Where a new export MPAN is required, Octopus puts the network operator's part at one to four weeks and full onboarding at roughly two to five weeks.
Read the meter at both ends
Photograph the export reading when the old arrangement closes and when the new one opens, so a disputed figure later is a two minute conversation rather than a lost quarter.
The order to do it in
- Find your current export rate and read the condition attached to it, not just the number.
- Work out what you would fall back to if you left that supplier's import supply. For several of them the answer is 3p to 6p.
- Price import and export together. A switch that wins on import and loses on export is still a loss.
- Locate your MCS certificate, your DNO connection paperwork and your battery schematic before you apply for anything.
- Confirm in writing that the incoming supplier can take half-hourly export readings from your meter.
- Check whether a Feed-in Tariff applies and how long you have been receiving it.
- Allow four to five weeks for the export side, and take dated meter readings at the changeover.
The three bands of export rate are set out in full in the 20p export rate explained, why the best export rates have conditions covers the gate on each, and our Smart Export Guarantee page carries OVO's current rates with the conditions spelled out. If you have not installed yet, the decision is simpler than it looks, because who fits the system and what you get paid for export are the same decision. The coverage map shows the regional partner holding the OVO partnership for your area, and the help centre covers the paperwork side in more detail.
One call, one written quote, and you keep the design either way. Your local OVO expert handles the install and the export paperwork together, so there is nothing to chase afterwards.
Get your free quote →Switching questions, answered
Does switching electricity supplier cancel my solar export payments?
Not automatically. Export is a separate arrangement with its own tariff, so it does not end the moment your import supply moves. What it can do is break the condition the rate depends on. Most of the better rates require you to import from the same supplier, so leaving drops you to whatever open rate you qualify for, and those sit at roughly 3p to 6p.
Can I import from one supplier and export to another?
Yes. They are separate contracts and some export tariffs carry no import condition at all. British Gas Export SEG pays 3p to anyone, OVO's standard SEG pays 4p to customers of any supplier, and E.ON Next Flex Export pays 6p variable. The catch is that the no-strings rates are the low ones, so splitting your supply usually costs more on export than it saves on import.
What documents do I need to move my export tariff?
British Gas asks for an MCS certificate, a Flexi-Orb certificate or equivalent accreditation, plus G98 or G99 proof of grid connection from your network operator and a smart meter recording export every 30 minutes. OVO asks for MCS certification or equivalent, a smart meter, and battery schematics where a battery is fitted. Assume you will be asked for all of it and gather it first.
How long does the export side take to switch?
Longer than the import side. OVO puts its SEG signup at around four weeks. Octopus puts creation of an export MPAN by the network operator at one to four weeks, with full onboarding at roughly two to five weeks. Plan for a month or more and keep dated meter readings through the changeover.
Could a cheap overnight or EV import tariff cost me my export rate?
It can. E.ON Next Export Exclusive v3 pays 13p to E.ON Next import customers but specifically excludes time-of-use import tariffs. Before moving onto an overnight rate, read the export terms as well as the import ones, because the gain on one side can be smaller than the loss on the other.
I am on the Feed-in Tariff. Can I move to a better export rate?
Sometimes, but not straight away if your FiT is recent. SEG payments cannot be combined with FiT export payments, so you would be replacing one with the other. Octopus states that customers who started receiving FiT payments in the last 12 months cannot switch export arrangements under FiT rules. Your FiT generation payments are a separate matter, so get advice specific to your agreement before giving anything up.
Is my smart meter good enough for a new export tariff?
Ask before you switch rather than after. Ofgem requires SEG payments to be calculated from readings taken by half-hourly capable metering, and Octopus lists SMETS2 and most, though not all, SMETS1 meters as compatible with Outgoing Octopus. If yours is an early first generation meter, get confirmation from the incoming supplier in writing.
Should I time a switch around the energy price cap?
The cap only affects the import side and it moves quarterly. The cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026 sets average capped unit rates of 26.11p per kWh for electricity and a 57.19p daily standing charge, and the October to December level is due to be published by 26 August 2026. Around 22 million accounts, roughly 40 per cent, sit on fixed tariffs the cap does not touch. Export rates move on their own timetable, so treat them as two decisions on two calendars.
Figures and specifications in this guide are sourced below and were checked on the date shown. Rates and product specifications change; we confirm the current picture on your free design call.
Sources
- Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee scheme rules, including eligible technologies, above-zero rates and half-hourly capable export metering ofgem.gov.uk
- Ofgem, energy price cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026, average unit rates, standing charges and the October announcement date ofgem.gov.uk
- OVO Energy, Smart Export Guarantee tariffs, eligibility and signup requirements, checked 3 August 2026 ovoenergy.com
- Octopus Energy, Outgoing Octopus terms, meter compatibility, export MPAN timings and Feed-in Tariff switching rules, checked 3 August 2026 octopus.energy
- British Gas, Smart Export Guarantee export tariffs, evidence requirements and payment terms, checked 3 August 2026 britishgas.co.uk
- E.ON Next, Next Export Exclusive v3 and Next Flex Export rates and conditions, checked 3 August 2026 eonnext.com
- EDF, Export 12m and SEG Export Variable rates and conditions, checked 3 August 2026 edfenergy.com
Read next
The energy price cap, and what it does to your solar payback
The cap sets your unit price. That price is what every unit of your own solar is worth.
Read the guide →How the Smart Export Guarantee actually works
What the scheme is, who qualifies, and how the money actually reaches you.
Read the guide →Adding a battery to solar you already have
Your panels stay untouched. The grid application is the part that catches people out.
Read the guide →