Export tariff switching across suppliers

A SEG tariff pays for eligible low-carbon electricity exported to the grid. Switching that tariff is separate from switching the electricity supplied to the home: the export contract has its own supplier, MPAN, meter data and start date. Import and export can stay with different companies, although many of the better export rates are conditional on buying electricity from the same supplier.

Import and export suppliers can be different

The SEG rules do not require the company paying for export to supply the electricity used in the home. A generator can therefore keep an import tariff that suits an EV, heat pump or battery and place the export account elsewhere.

That freedom does not make every advertised rate available. Suppliers can attach commercial eligibility conditions to individual tariffs. For example, Octopus Outgoing needs Octopus import supply, EDF Export 12m needs EDF import supply, and E.ON Next Export Exclusive excludes time-of-use import tariffs such as Next Drive. Installer-linked tariffs add another condition. The comparison must therefore cover both contracts, not just the pence-per-kWh export headline.

For the SEG year from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, Ofgem lists 12 mandatory licensees: British Gas, E (Gas and Electricity), E.ON Next, EDF, Electricity Plus Supply trading as Utility Warehouse, Foxglove Energy, Fuse Energy, Octopus Energy, OVO Electricity, ScottishPower, So Energy and Utilita. Pozitive Energy, Ruby Electricity, Smart Pay Energy and Voltx Power are voluntary licensees. A commercial export tariff from a company outside those lists, such as Good Energy’s current Solar Savings products, is not a SEG tariff even if it appears in a general export comparison.

What actually moves

The import and export sides of a smart meter have different MPANs. The import MPAN appears on the electricity bill. The export MPAN identifies the metered electricity leaving the property and is the reference the export supplier registers.

For a first export application, the chosen supplier normally asks the DNO to create an export MPAN. When an existing export account moves, the MPAN should already exist and the new supplier takes over its registration. British Gas states that it obtains an existing export MPAN from the previous provider; ScottishPower likewise distinguishes a transfer from a first application where an MPAN must be created.

A transfer still needs an agreed changeover date, usable half-hourly meter data and an opening reading. Keep a dated photograph of the export register when the old account ends and the new one starts. It gives both suppliers a common reading if the remote data or account dates do not line up.

Documents to have ready

The exact application differs, but a domestic solar or battery owner will commonly need:

proof that the applicant owns the generating system or is entitled to its export payments
the MCS certificate, or another certification the supplier accepts
the DNO connection acknowledgement or approval for the installation
the export MPAN, if one already exists
the smart meter serial number and a photograph showing the export register and reading
a battery schematic where the supplier asks for one
bank and contact details for payment

The meter must be able to record export in half-hourly periods and the supplier must be able to obtain or validate that data. A smart meter display showing an export register is not, on its own, proof that the export MPAN is registered or that the new supplier is receiving the readings.

A safe switching sequence

Check the new export tariff’s current rate, term, exit fee, import tie, installer condition and system-size limit.
Check whether moving the import supply would end or reduce the old export rate. Do not assume the two contracts move together.
Apply to the new export supplier and state that an export MPAN already exists.
Save the application confirmation, existing MPAN and a dated meter photograph.
Ask the new supplier to confirm the agreed start date and whether the old supplier needs any action from you.
Check the old supplier’s final statement and the new supplier’s first validated reading before treating the switch as complete.

There is no universal reason to move import first or export first. If the new export tariff requires the new supplier’s import tariff, import may have to move before the export application can pass eligibility. If leaving the old import supplier immediately cuts a high export rate, moving import first may instead leave a lower-paid gap. Plan the two dates around the actual terms and get the export start date confirmed.

How long it takes

Supplier estimates describe different processes and should not be combined into a single industry promise. Octopus shows two working days to process a first application, one to four weeks for the DNO to create a new export MPAN and five days to enrol it. British Gas says an account can take up to four weeks to set up. ScottishPower quotes up to 14 days to validate an application, one to two weeks for creation of a new MPAN and a further one to two weeks to register payment details.

Those figures include new applications as well as transfers, and MPAN creation should not be repeated for a clean transfer. Missing documents, a non-communicating meter or an incomplete MPAN record can take longer. No reliable universal “four to six week” switching time follows from the published estimates, so the supplier’s written confirmation is the useful date.

ScottishPower states that a new application is paid from the application date and a transfer from the date agreed with the old supplier, so customers should not lose export covered by that agreement. That is ScottishPower’s commitment, not a rule to assume across every supplier. For any other move, confirm in writing which supplier pays for electricity exported between application and activation.

Current rate tiers and switching consequences

The table shows representative rates verified on supplier pages on 22 July 2026. Every figure is a dated snapshot. The table is a map of the conditions, not a substitute for a current quote.

Tariff	Rate	Main access condition
Good Energy Solar Savings Exclusive	25p	Good Energy solar and battery installation plus import supply; 12 months, then current Solar Savings rate
OVO SEG Install Exclusive	up to 20p	OVO solar and battery installation plus OVO import; 15p for solar-only installation
So Bright Export	20p	Qualifying So Energy installation; 12 months
EDF Export Exclusive 12m V3	18p	Qualifying Contact Solar installation plus EDF import
E.ON Next Export Premium v3	17.5p	Qualifying E.ON installation from 10 November 2025
EDF Export 12m	15p	EDF import customer
E.ON Next Export Exclusive v3	13p	E.ON import, excluding time-of-use tariffs such as Next Drive
British Gas Export Premium	12p	British Gas import and system no larger than 15kW; 8p above 15kW
ScottishPower SmartGen Premium	12p	ScottishPower import customer
E.ON Next Flex Export / ScottishPower SmartGen	6p	Open tariffs without an import or installer tie
So Export Flex	4.5p	Open tariff
Octopus SEG	4.1p	Open tariff
OVO SEG	4p	Open tariff
EDF SEG Export Variable	3p	Open tariff

Leaving an import supplier can end access to its tied export rate even if the export account is technically separate. The replacement may be the supplier’s lower open rate, or the export agreement may end. Conversely, an installer-linked rate may remain unavailable at a new supplier regardless of where import is bought. Read the eligibility and termination sections, not only the tariff summary.

Moving from Feed-in Tariff export payments

An owner can keep Feed-in Tariff (FIT) generation payments while moving the export element to SEG, but cannot receive FIT export and SEG export payments for the same installation at the same time. Ofgem says the owner must first opt out of FIT export payments through the FIT licensee.

The choice is not freely reversible from month to month. Ofgem’s FIT generator guidance says a generator can change the decision to opt in or out no more than once every 12 months, after the first anniversary rules have been met. Before opting out, compare the indexed FIT export payment, including any deemed-export basis, with the SEG payment expected from actual metered export. Keep written confirmation of the FIT export end date so the SEG supplier can verify there is no overlap.

Cooling-off, exit fees and end dates

There is no single set of commercial terms for all SEG contracts. British Gas’s current products have no exit fee or end date. E.ON’s current fixed export tariffs have no exit fee. So Energy’s general terms allow a tariff-specific early exit fee to be set in the commencement letter and provide a 14-day cooling-off period from that letter. ScottishPower also states a 14-day cooling-off period.

The safe rule is to inspect the tariff-specific letter or statement of terms. Check the notice period, the date a fixed rate ends, the tariff used on rollover and what happens if the linked import supply ends. A general supplier FAQ cannot override the terms issued for the particular plan.

If the transfer stalls

Ask the supplier to identify the exact missing item: application evidence, export MPAN registration, half-hourly meter communication, opening read validation or the agreed transfer date. Keep the case in writing and raise a formal complaint if normal support does not resolve it. After eight weeks, or once the supplier issues a deadlock letter, an eligible domestic complaint can be taken to the Energy Ombudsman.

Ofgem’s automatic compensation rules for delayed domestic energy-supply switches should not be assumed to cover a separate SEG export transfer. A customer can still ask for redress through the complaint process, but should not promise themselves a fixed automatic payment without a decision that the relevant rule applies.