Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) - get paid to export your renewable energy
Turn your excess renewable energy into extra income with 15.1p per kWh if you’re a British Gas electricity customer. Apply for our solar export tariff and get paid for your excess electricity.
Already part of our SEG scheme? Submit your export meter readings
What is the SEG scheme?
The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a UK government scheme that pays homes and small businesses with renewable technologies like solar panels for selling excess energy back to the grid. It replaced the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme that ended in April 2019. British Gas are a mandated SEG licensee.
What is a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff?
If you make your own green energy at home and have a smart meter that checks your electricity every half hour, you can sign up for a SEG tariff and get paid for the electricity you don’t use.
Who can sign up for our SEG tariff?
You don’t have to be an existing British Gas customer to benefit from our SEG tariff. However, you’ll automatically get our best SEG export tariff price if we supply your electricity.
Our best SEG tariff
You’ll automatically get our best SEG export tariff price if you’re a British Gas electricity customer.
Export and Earn Plus
- Exclusive to British Gas electricity customers1
- Variable tariff, so the export price we pay can go up or down
- Free to cancel or switch to another provider at any time
- No exit fee or end date
- Subject to eligibility
If you aren’t a British Gas electricity customer we’ll pay 3.02p per kWh.
How to apply for the SEG tariff
1. Apply online
Our online form will walk you through the process step by step.
2. Confirmation
We'll email you to confirm we're working on your application. If we need any more information, we'll let you know.
3. You’re all set
It can take up to 4 weeks to set your account up and then you’re all ready to start exporting energy.
What do I need to get a solar export tariff?
You need a system that creates renewable energy, such as solar panels. When your system creates more electricity than you can use, the SEG tariff lets you send the excess electricity to the grid, and pays you for it. Your system must be connected to a smart meter that sends readings every half an hour. We’ve summarised everything you’ll need to set up your SEG tariff in the boxes below.
Renewable energy systems
You need to have one of the following systems up to a capacity of 5 MW, or 50 kW for micro-chp.
- Solar PV panels
- Wind
- Hydro
- Anaerobic digestion (AD)
- Micro combined heat and power (micro CHP)
Paperwork
- Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certificate, Flexi-Orb certificate or accreditation certificate
- Proof of grid connection (G98/G99)from your Distribution Network Operator (DNO)
Smart meter
You must be based in England, Scotland or Wales, and have a smart meter installed that records export readings every 30 minutes.
If you don't have a smart meter, we'll install one free if you’re a British Gas customers.
Payment details
You’ll need your bank details to hand for your application.
We'll send a payment every 3 months directly to your bank account.
You'll get paid within 28 days of receiving your export meter reading.
The benefits of joining the SEG scheme
Earn money for renewable energy you don’t use
When you generate more electricity than your home needs, that extra energy doesn’t go to waste. With a SEG tariff , you simply sell it back to the grid.
Lower your energy costs even more with a SEG tariff
Just having solar panels, or another form of renewable technology, helps to reduce your energy bills. Add SEG payments on top, and you can bring your energy costs down even more. So you’ll offset the cost of your solar setup, for instance, more quickly.
Support a greener, cleaner energy system
Every bit of electricity you send to the grid means less energy that needs to be made by burning fossil fuels. The more people who join SEG, the more sustainable energy there is out there - and that benefits everyone.
Get your home ready to start generating your own green energy
Not got solar panels yet?
If you’re not yet generating electricity, then a popular choice is solar panels. Once you’ve got solar panels installed you can join our SEG scheme and get paid for any excess electricity you don’t use.
If you choose solar with Hive you can get up to 25% off your electricity usage with the Hive Solar Saver on any British Gas tariff.
Don’t miss your £7,500 heat pump grant
Claim your government grant for going even greener - and then look forward to even lower heating bills and a smaller carbon footprint.
Already with us for SEG?
See our FAQs below for how to take your export meter readings.
Submit your export meter readings
If you’ve got a smart meter, you don’t usually need to send us your readings. Your meter should do that for you automatically.
If we can’t get your reading we’ll ask you to submit one every three months.
Manage your payment details
We’ll send you an SEG payment by bank transfer every three months, within 28 days of receiving your latest export meter reading.
You can update your bank details using the link below, and confirm the email address you’d like your correspondence sent to.
Ready to start selling energy back to the grid or have a question on your existing tariff?
If you have any questions about SEG or our export tariffs, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Send us an email at smartexportguarantee@britishgas.co.uk and we’ll reply within 5 working days.
Phone
0333 202 9483 (we’re available Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm).
We recommend you read our T&Cs and privacy notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to take your export meter readings from a smart meter
Just follow the instructions from your meter’s ‘sleep mode’. Don’t wake your meter first.
Landis+Gyr (SMETS1)
Press and hold the A button for 3 to 4 seconds.
Press the A button until TOTAL Act Export display is seen. This could be up to 13 button presses.
- You should see ‘Total Act Export’ and your export reading on the screen in kWh.
Landis+Gyr (SMETS2)
Press the A button twice.
Press and hold the A button for 3 to 4 seconds.
Press the A button until TOTAL Act Export is displayed. This can be up to 23 individual button presses.
- You should see ‘Total Act Export’ and your export reading on the screen in kWh.
Elster (SMETS2)
Press the A button.
Press the B button 3 times.
Press the A button twice and then press button B once.
- You should see ‘Cum Export’ and your export reading on the screen in kWh.
Secure (SMETS1)
Press the 9 key twice.
- You should see your export reading on the screen in kWh.
EDMI (SMETS2)
Your meter will automatically cycle between 3 different readings at 5-second intervals. So you may have to wait until the ‘EXPRT’ reading comes back around to take your photo.
How do SEG payments work?
We’ll send you a SEG payment every three months. The amount you receive will depend on your SEG tariff and how much electricity you export to the grid.
We’ll pay you within 28 days of receiving your latest export meter reading. Either by cheque, or by bank transfer if we have your account details.
What’s an export MPAN?
A Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN) is a supply number that’s unique to each smart meter. Your export MPAN is linked to the electricity you export to the grid.
It’ll be different to the supply number you’ll see on bills you receive from your energy supplier, which is for the electricity you import from the grid.
If you’re joining the SEG scheme for the first time, we’ll create and register your export MPAN for you. If you’re moving your SEG to us from another provider, we’ll get your export MPAN directly from them.
Why do I need to send readings when I have a smart meter?
It can take some time for your smart meter to start sending us readings when you first sign up or switch your SEG to us. In the meantime, we may ask you to send readings to us directly.
We may also ask you to send us a reading if your smart meter stops communicating with us for any reason.
Is there a limit to the amount of electricity I can export?
No, you can send an unlimited amount of excess electricity to the grid. But it can’t be any more than the amount your renewable electricity system is capable of generating.
Can I apply for a SEG tariff if I have battery storage?
Yes, you can apply for a tariff and receive SEG payments whether the electricity you export comes directly from your renewable system, or from your battery storage.
Can I receive both Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and SEG payments?
Unfortunately, you cannot receive export payments from both the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme and the SEG (Smart Export Guarantee) programme at the same time. However, just because you have FIT export currently does not exclude you from opting out and into the SEG export plan. You will continue to receive FIT generation payments, but you should be aware that you may only opt out of FIT export payments once every 12 months. Once you've switched from deemed to metered export payments, you can't go back.
Why is the SEG tariff separate from my existing energy tariff?
Your existing energy tariff is what’s called an import tariff. It’s the price you pay for the energy you buy from your supplier.
A SEG tariff is an export tariff. It’s the price you get paid for the energy you sell to the grid.
Import and export tariffs are separated because the prices of buying and selling energy are different. Your electricity meter also records your import and export readings separately. And it’s your export readings that are used to calculate your SEG payments.
You don’t need to be on a British Gas import tariff to apply for a SEG export tariff with us. But if we do supply your electricity, you receive a better export rate on our Export and Earn Plus tariff.
What happens if I cancel or switch my SEG tariff to another provider?
If you change Smart Export Guarantee providers, we will be notified by your new SEG provider. We'll request a final export meter reading from you, issue a final payment and close your British Gas SEG account.
What happens if I add capacity to my renewable energy system?
The maximum capacity of most renewable systems that are eligible for the SEG scheme is 5 MW. The exception is micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP) systems, where the maximum’s 50 kW.
You can install additional capacity and go above the maximum. But you won’t be paid for exporting more electricity than a 5 WM (or 50 kW micro-CHP) system can generate.
If you have already added capacity to your SEG installation, please contact us on smartexportguarantee@britishgas.co.uk or 0333 202 9483.
What happens if I switch my electricity supply to another provider?
We'll automatically switch you to our Export and Earn flex tariff from the date you change supplier. You may need to provide an up-to-date export reading so we can calculate what we owe you at the higher Export and Earn Plus rate.
How do I switch to different SEG provider?
- Contact your preferred SEG licensee and follow their application process.
- Please also provide a photograph of your export meter reading to smartexportguarantee@britishgas.co.uk.
- And after the changeover is complete, we will send your final payment.
- You can reapply for SEG at British Gas at any time by completing our SEG application form.
Thinking of changing your SEG provider? Check out our export tariff rates and see if we can offer you a better SEG rate.
Detail here whether customers can benefit from the Solar Saver tariff and take part in the SEG scheme
Customers can earn around £1,000 tax free in SEG payments if their solar panels are on a domestic property that they own.
Am I eligible for the Export & Earn Plus tariff?
To qualify for our SEG Export and Earn Plus tariff:
- British Gas must be your electricity supplier.
- You must be the named account holder on your electricity bill.
- The property must be occupied.
- No electricity is generated on the property under a rent-a-roof agreement.
Legal information
To qualify for our Export and Earn tariff, British Gas must supply the electricity to your property, exclusions apply for developers and participants in the rent a roof scheme.
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Based on a medium demand (2,700 kWh) property in London, with south-facing 10 panel 4kW arrays and a battery providing 35% of the home’s electricity needs. Excess energy is sold back to the grid at 15.1p per kWh using the British Gas ‘Export & Earn Plus’ SEG tariff. Saving includes ‘Hive Solar Saver’ discount of 25% on electricity unit rate in first year and savings will vary after that. We will give at least one months’ advance notice of the offer ending on the BG website. Typical bill calculated using national average July - September 2025 price cap rates. Actual savings will depend on location, installation, aspect and electricity use. For full details please see the Hive Solar Saver Terms & Conditions.