Correct as of June 2026
Solar export tariffs compared
What the Smart Export Guarantee tariffs we track actually pay for the electricity you do not use — every rate dated, closed tariffs labelled, and the one number that beats all of them.
In short
As of June 2026, the open flat-rate export tariffs we track paid between about 10.5p and 16.5p per kWh, and the time-of-use ones pay more in the 4–7 pm window but only on electricity you can export then — which in practice means a battery. Against an import rate of about 26.11p, a unit you keep is worth roughly double a unit you sell. Figures verified 16 August 2026; next check November 2026. Check the supplier’s page before you sign anything.
Open export tariffs
Rates as published by each supplier as of June 2026. “Import bundling” means you have to buy your electricity from the same supplier to get the rate.
| Supplier | Tariff | Rate (p/kWh) | Type | Import bundling | Battery needed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Energy | Outgoing Octopus (Fixed) | 12 | Flat | No | No | Cut from 15p to 12p on 1 March 2026. The 'default sensible choice' for solar-only homes with no battery. |
| Octopus Energy | Outgoing Octopus Prime | 16 peak (16:00-19:00) / 9 off-peak | Time of use | No | No | Verified live 2026-08-16: 16p/kWh 4-7pm, 9p/kWh rest of day, vs 12p flat on standard Outgoing. Only beats the flat 12p for sites that can shift export into the 4-7pm window (battery, or genuinely evening-peaked generation) - a daytime-peaking commercial solar profile is usually better on the flat rate. Dataset previously held the standard and the closed Flux products but not Prime. |
| E.ON Next | Export (with import bundling) | ~16.5 | Flat | Yes | No | Among the highest standard fixed rates; requires being an E.ON Next import customer. Verify live. |
| British Gas | Export & Earn Plus | ~15.1 | Flat | Yes | No | Typically requires being a BG import customer. Verify live. |
| Good Energy | Solar Savings (standalone) | ~15 | Flat | No | No | Best standalone flat rate without switching import supplier (verify live). |
| OVO Energy | SEG | ~12 | Flat | No | No | Verify live. |
| E.ON Next | Standard SEG | ~10.5 | Flat | No | No | Lower standalone rate. Verify live. |
Correct as of June 2026 · verified 16 August 2026 · suppliers set their own rates and may change them on about thirty days’ notice.
Closed to new customers
Listed because people still quote them. You cannot sign up to these today; their historic peak rates are the model for what a battery can earn on a time-banded tariff, not a rate on offer.
| Supplier | Tariff | Historic rate (p/kWh) | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Energy | Octopus Flux | up to ~29 (historic peak) | Closed to new customers | CLOSED to new sign-ups (March 2026). Illustrative only — teach the time-banded model, route new buyers to live alternatives. Do NOT present as joinable. |
| Octopus Energy | Intelligent Octopus Flux | up to ~32 peak (historic) | Closed to new customers | CLOSED to new sign-ups (March 2026). Highest historic peak (~32p 4–7pm, ~24p other times) — use as the arbitrage ceiling illustration only, with the closed caveat. |
Installer-bundled exclusives
Bundled installer-exclusive export — ~24–25 (conditional) p/kWh. INSTALLER-BUNDLED, conditional, often time-limited — label 'not open-market'. Never list in the same visual tier as standard SEG rates.
Why the import rate is the number that matters
A unit you USE yourself avoids your import rate; a unit you EXPORT earns the SEG rate. Self-consumption is worth roughly double — and that argument survives every SEG cut.
Put the open export rates above next to an import rate of about 26.11p per kWh and the arithmetic is the same on every row: the electricity you keep is worth roughly twice what you are paid for the electricity you sell. That is why we size an array to the house first — from your bill, not your roof — and why a battery sized to the evening load earns its keep on the gap between those two numbers. The longer version is SEG tariffs: what exporting actually pays.
Cheap-rate import tariffs, for the battery and the car
The other half of the picture for a house with a battery or an electric car: tariffs with a cheap overnight or off-peak window, as of June 2026.
- Octopus Energy — Intelligent Octopus Go: ~7 off-peak p/kWh (~6-hour overnight smart window). EV owners — charge the car AND top up a home battery cheap overnight to self-consume/export at peak next day (the residential arbitrage engine).
- Octopus Energy — Cosy Octopus: cheap windows ~04:00–07:00, 13:00–16:00, 22:00–00:00 p/kWh (three daily cheap windows). Heat-pump homes — run the heat pump / charge the battery in cheap windows; pair with Outgoing Octopus (12p) for export.
- E.ON Next — Next Drive: ~8 off-peak (00:00–06:00, whole-home) p/kWh (overnight). EV/battery overnight charging alternative to Octopus Go.
How a car changes the sizing is in solar, a battery and an electric car.
Questions people ask about export tariffs
Do I have to export to the supplier I buy my electricity from?
No. Ofgem’s own guidance is that your SEG licensee does not need to be the same company as your current energy supplier. Some of the higher flat rates do require you to be an import customer of that supplier — the table says which — but the standalone rates do not.
Why does the Octopus export rate differ from what some comparison sites show?
Octopus Outgoing Fixed fell 15p -> 12p/kWh on 1 March 2026, confirmed against the Octopus help article (primary source). Third-party comparison sites were still publishing 15p in Aug 2026 — do not verify this figure from aggregators. Rates move on roughly thirty days’ notice, which is why every figure here is dated June 2026 and re-verified quarterly.
Is a time-of-use export tariff worth having without a battery?
Rarely. A tariff that pays more between 4 and 7 pm only earns that rate on electricity you export in that window, and without a battery a solar array exports in the middle of the day. With a battery sized to hold the day’s surplus and release it into the paid window, the arithmetic changes — which is the case the battery pages make.
The words — SEG, export meter, time-of-use, self-consumption — are in the glossary.
The next step
Which tariff fits your house
Send us a recent bill and tell us whether there is a car or a battery in the picture. We will say which of these tariffs the numbers point to, in writing, and size the system to it.
- Call 01243 882444
- Email hello@solar-squirrel.co.uk
- Based Washington, West Sussex
If solar genuinely won’t pay for itself on your usage, we’ll say so and save us both an afternoon.
Rather see the numbers before you speak to anybody? Put your own bill on the house — it works out the size, the saving and the payback while you watch, and brings them down to this form with you.