Export MPAN setup

An MPAN is the industry identifier for an electricity supply point. Its core is a unique 13-digit number. A home that imports electricity already has an import MPAN. Where metered export is registered for payment, it has a separate export MPAN for electricity flowing from the property to the network.

An export MPAN is an industry record, not the export register itself and not an export tariff. Creating the number does not prove that a tariff is active, that the meter is sending usable readings or that payments have started. Those stages need to be checked separately.

Connection acceptance comes first

The generating equipment must follow the applicable G98 or G99 connection process. For a small G98 installation, the installer sends the required notification after commissioning. Apply-to-connect installations need DNO acceptance before installation.

This network process establishes that the generation or storage is connected on the agreed terms. The export MPAN and tariff process establishes how metered export is registered and paid. A DNO acknowledgement is therefore useful application evidence, but it is not itself an export MPAN or a tariff contract.

Check the connection records before applying for export payment. Names, address, meter serial number, inverter details and installed capacity should be consistent across the certificate, DNO acknowledgement and supplier application. A mismatch is easier to correct before the export supplier has submitted an MPAN request.

How an export MPAN is normally set up

Ofgem tells generators to apply to a SEG licensee and notes that each supplier sets its own application process and contract terms. The export supplier does not have to be the same company as the import supplier.

The detailed industry route can vary. One current supplier example, published by Octopus Energy, works as follows:

1. The owner receives the installation certificate and DNO confirmation.
2. The owner applies for an export tariff and supplies the requested evidence.
3. The supplier asks the DNO for a new export MPAN.
4. The DNO creates the export MPAN.
5. The supplier enrols it and begins collecting export readings when the setup is complete.

Treat that as a clear example, not a universal service-level promise. DNO and supplier procedures differ, and some network operators publish their own export MPAN routes. Follow the instructions for the property’s actual DNO and chosen export supplier.

If an export MPAN may already exist, give the prospective supplier the existing number and ask it to check the industry record. Creating a duplicate is not the same as switching or enrolling an existing export point.

Evidence the supplier may request

Government SEG guidance requires a qualifying renewable installation, certification through MCS or an accredited equivalent and a meter capable of providing half-hourly export readings. It also says a generator cannot receive SEG while receiving Feed-in Tariff export payments for the same export.

The exact application pack is supplier-specific. Common items include:

• the MCS certificate or accepted equivalent
• the DNO’s G98 acknowledgement or G99 acceptance
• the import MPAN and supply address
• the electricity meter serial number
• an initial export-register reading or meter photograph
• a single-line schematic where storage or multiple inverters make the arrangement less obvious
• proof of ownership or authority to enter the export contract

Do not turn one supplier’s checklist into a nationwide rule. Check the current application page and terms for the tariff being chosen.

The meter and MPAN are separate checks

SEG requires actual metered export, and government guidance says the meter must be capable of half-hourly export readings. A smart meter will often meet that requirement, but the supplier still needs to confirm that it can obtain the correct export data for the tariff.

Check four separate items:

1. The meter has an export register and records exported energy.
2. The meter serial number matches the supplier’s record.
3. The export MPAN has been created or located.
4. The export supplier has enrolled that MPAN and can retrieve acceptable readings.

A visible export register does not prove that the export MPAN is enrolled. Equally, an allocated MPAN does not prove that remote half-hourly data is flowing correctly.

Supplier export accounts with battery storage

Government guidance says a storage device, including a household battery or EV, may be able to benefit from SEG and directs the owner to the prospective SEG supplier for advice.

That matters where a battery can charge from the grid as well as from renewable generation. The supplier’s tariff terms determine how it treats storage export and what evidence or configuration it requires. Do not assume that every export tariff pays for every unit discharged from a battery merely because the site has an export MPAN.

The electrical connection paperwork must still include the battery where applicable. The export MPAN records metered export at the site; it does not replace G98, G99 or G100 compliance for the equipment producing that flow.

Application-stage records

The export application uses:

• the export supplier’s application reference
• the date and result of its document checks
• the DNO connection reference
• whether an MPAN request has actually been sent to the DNO
• the export MPAN, if one has been allocated
• whether supplier enrolment is complete
• whether valid half-hourly export data is being received
• the tariff start date confirmed by the supplier

This shows where the hand-off has stopped. Missing installation evidence belongs first with the installer or certification body. A missing connection acknowledgement belongs with the DNO and installer. An MPAN request that has not been submitted or enrolled belongs with the export supplier. Meter communication or data-quality problems normally need the supplier responsible for the relevant metering setup.

There is no safe nationwide promise for setup time or backdated payment. Ofgem says suppliers determine their own payment and contract terms. Keep a dated opening export reading, but obtain written confirmation of the tariff start date and any backdating policy before valuing export during the application period.

Export account records

Retain the export MPAN with the MCS or equivalent certificate, DNO correspondence, meter details, tariff contract, opening reading and first successful export statement. If changing export supplier, give the new supplier the existing MPAN and follow its current enrolment process rather than assuming the import and export accounts will move together.

Related entries

• SEG export metering and MPANs
• Export tariff switching across suppliers
• G98 notification pathway
• G99 application pathway
• DNO notification for PV