How the scheme works
Electricity suppliers above a certain size must offer an export tariff that pays more than zero, and that is nearly all the law requires. Rates are the supplier's choice, from a token 1p or 2p per kWh to 15p or more, usually on tariffs reserved for customers who also import from the same supplier.
Payments run on actual half-hourly export readings from a smart meter. Your export supplier does not have to be your import supplier, but the best rates are usually bundled, which is the lever suppliers use to win your import business.
What you need to qualify
Three things in practice: an installation certified under MCS or equivalent, a smart meter that records export, and an application to the supplier with your certificate. The MCS certificate is the one to protect: it is issued by your installer at commissioning, suppliers ask for it, and chasing paperwork from an installer years later is nobody's idea of fun. This is one of several reasons using MCS-certified installers is not optional in practice.
Batteries complicate one corner: some export tariffs pay only for solar generation, not for electricity that passed through a battery, and a few pay differently for each. If you have or plan storage, check the tariff's battery rules before signing.
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Compare solar quotesChoosing a rate, and what it changes
Treat the export rate as part of your energy shopping, reviewed whenever you switch supplier, rather than something fixed at installation. The difference is real money: a home exporting 1,500 kWh a year receives £15 at 1p and £225 at 15p.
The export rate also feeds the battery decision, covered properly in is a solar battery worth it: a generous export rate narrows the gap a battery exploits, a token one widens it. Whichever way that lands for you, the paperwork starts with a certified installation, and comparing quotes from MCS-certified installers is where that starts.
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Up to three trusted, MCS-certified installers quote for the work. Free, no obligation.
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