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Export ratesWhich export rate can you actually qualify for?
There is a reason the eye-catching export rates are never the ones open to everybody. Understanding the gate is the difference between a rate you will actually be paid and a number in a headline.
Updated 4 August 2026 · from the OVO Solar & Battery team
Export is not a charity, it is a customer relationship
The Smart Export Guarantee obliges larger licensed suppliers to offer households an export tariff. It does not set the price. Suppliers are free to pay whatever they like as long as it is above zero, and what they choose to pay tells you exactly what they are buying.
A supplier paying 3p is buying electricity. A supplier paying 20p is buying a customer relationship: your import supply, your install, or both. Once you see it that way the whole market makes sense.
The three bands, and the gate on each
Sorted by what they are conditioned on, the flat rates fall into three bands: 3p to 6p open to anyone, 12p to 15p where you have to import your electricity from the same supplier, and 17.5p to 25p where that supplier installed or supplied the system and normally holds your electricity supply as well. The band table itself, with the named tariffs in each band and the date every rate was checked, sits on the 20p export rate explained.
What matters here is not the numbers but the gate on each one. The bottom band has no gate, which is exactly why it pays what it pays. The middle band buys your import supply, and it can be fussy about which import tariff you are on. The top band buys the installation: E.ON Next Export Premium asks that E.ON Installation Services fitted the system, EDF's Export Exclusive that the kit was purchased from EDF after 2 March 2026, OVO's 20p that OVO installs both the solar and the battery and supplies your electricity, and Good Energy's Solar Savings Exclusive that the battery went in through Good Energy.
The install condition is not a catch, it is the mechanism
A supplier can only afford a headline export rate if it also holds your import supply and knows the system was fitted to its own standard. That is why standalone installers cannot offer these rates: they do not own a tariff. It also means the installer and the export rate are a single decision, not two.
The conditions that are easy to miss
The install gate is the obvious one, and it is usually stated plainly. These are the ones that catch people out.
- The rate has an end date. So Energy's So Bright pays 20p for 12 months and then moves onto So Export Flex at 4.5p. A headline that halves after a year is a very different proposition from a standing rate.
- The rate only applies at certain hours. Octopus Prime Outgoing pays 16p for exports between 4pm and 7pm and 9p the rest of the day, on a 12 month fixed term. Your annual income depends on how much of your export lands inside the good window, and a battery is what decides that.
- Your import tariff can disqualify you. E.ON Next Export Exclusive v3 excludes customers on time-of-use import tariffs. Choosing a cheap overnight import rate can quietly cost you the export rate you signed up for.
- System size caps. British Gas Export Premium runs to 15kW and Export Extra at 8p covers systems above that. OVO's exclusive rates apply under 30kW. Domestic roofs rarely trouble these, but they are real.
- Tariffs close. Intelligent Octopus Flux has been closed to new customers since April 2026. Whatever is open today may not be open when your install completes.
- Exit fees and fixed terms. Some export tariffs are 12 month fixed with no exit fee, and some import tariffs carry one. Read both sides before you commit.
The simplest way through all of this is to have someone run it against your actual roof and your actual usage. That is what the free 45 minute video design is for, and you get a written price on the call.
Get your free quote →Six things to check before you believe a rate
- Who has to install the system for you to get it, and by when.
- Who has to supply your electricity, and whether your preferred import tariff is excluded.
- How long the rate is fixed for, and what it drops to afterwards.
- Which hours it applies to, if it is not a flat rate.
- What size system it covers, and whether battery storage changes the band you land in.
- The date the rate was published, because export rates move several times a year.
Competitor rates and conditions taken from published supplier pages and checked on 3 August 2026. Where a supplier gates its exact pricing behind a postcode or a quote, we have described the structure rather than guessing at the number. Always confirm directly with the supplier before deciding.
What this means when you are buying
If a rate you like is install-gated, the decision about who fits your solar is also a decision about what you get paid for the next 25 years. Fitting the panels now and the battery later can leave you on the lower band in the meantime, which is one of several reasons our designs look at both together.
The detail on OVO's own rates and their conditions sits on the Smart Export Guarantee page, and the 20p export rate explained puts real money against each band. If you want to know who would be looking after you locally, the coverage map names the OVO expert for your area.
No home visit, no obligation, and you keep the design either way.
Get your free quote →Questions about export tariff conditions
Why can a standalone installer not offer me 20p per kWh?
Because an export rate is a tariff, and only a licensed electricity supplier can offer one. An installer who is not a supplier can fit your system beautifully and still have nothing to do with what you are paid for export. Where the installer and the supplier are the same organisation, the two decisions collapse into one.
Is a rate with conditions riskier than an open one?
Not inherently, but read the term. The risk is not the condition itself, it is a rate that reverts sharply at the end of a fixed period, or one that depends on an import tariff you might want to leave. A rate you qualify for on the day of install and can still hold in three years is worth more than a higher headline that expires.
Can I take an export tariff from one supplier and import from another?
Yes, in principle. Export and import are separate arrangements and some export tariffs have no import condition at all. In practice the rates without an import condition are the low ones, so splitting your supply usually costs you more on export than it saves on import.
Do export rates vary by region?
Flat export rates do not. A 20p rate is 20p wherever you live. Time-of-use export tariffs can carry regional pricing, and your generation certainly varies with where you are, from roughly 850 kWh per kWp a year in north east Scotland to about 1,060 in Devon and Cornwall. Same rate, different number of units.
What happens to my export rate if I move house?
The tariff belongs to the property's export meter and the supplier of it, so it does not travel with you. The buyer takes on the system and would apply for a SEG tariff in their own name. A certified system with a live export arrangement is generally straightforward to hand over.
Should I wait for a better rate before installing?
Rates move in both directions, and waiting has a cost of its own: every month without panels is a month buying all your electricity at the full import price, currently around 26.11p on the capped average. Get the design and the numbers first, then decide with something concrete in front of you.
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
- British Gas, EDF, E.ON Next, Octopus Energy, Good Energy and So Energy published export tariff pages and conditions, all checked 3 August 2026 supplier tariff pages
- OVO Energy, Smart Export Guarantee tariffs and eligibility criteria, checked 3 August 2026 ovoenergy.com
- Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee scheme rules, including the requirement that rates are above zero ofgem.gov.uk
- OVO Solar and Battery, regional generation figures by kWh per kWp and published SEG rates ovosolarandbattery.co.uk
Read next
The 20p export rate, and how it compares to standard SEG
4p or 20p for the same exported units. The conditions on each, in plain terms.
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 →How much a home battery saves, unit by unit
What a battery saves per unit, per night and per year, with the losses taken off.
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