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OVO's standard Smart Export Guarantee tariff pays customers for eligible renewable electricity exported from their property to the public grid. The current rate is 4 pence per kilowatt hour. Unlike OVO's two higher-paying export products, the household does not need to buy its imported electricity from OVO. The customer can keep an electricity tariff with another supplier and appoint OVO to handle the export account. The standard OVO SEG tariff can support solar photovoltaic panels and other qualifying low-carbon generation technologies. It is most relevant to customers who want to retain an import tariff elsewhere and do not qualify for OVO's 12p SEG Beyond Exclusive or its Install Exclusive rate of up to 20p. This guide was checked on 11 July 2026.
Renewable generation normally supplies electricity being used within the property first. When generation is greater than the household's immediate demand, surplus electricity may charge a home battery. Any remaining electricity can flow through the export meter and enter the local electricity network. OVO records the eligible electricity exported and pays 4p for each kilowatt hour. A household exporting 1,000 kWh during the year would receive ยฃ40. Exporting 2,500 kWh would produce ยฃ100. Exporting 4,000 kWh would produce ยฃ160. Payments are based on measured export rather than the total electricity generated by the solar panels, turbine or other system. Electricity used inside the property does not pass through the export register and does not receive a SEG payment.
The main benefit of OVO's standard SEG tariff is that the customer's import supply can remain with another provider. The household could, for example, buy electricity through an electric vehicle, heat pump or battery tariff from another company while receiving export payments from OVO. The import and export accounts are separate contracts. One records electricity taken from the network, while the other records electricity sent into it. OVO confirms that customers whose energy supply is with another provider can use its standard 4p SEG tariff. Customers supplied by OVO may instead qualify for SEG Beyond Exclusive, which currently pays 12p per kWh, subject to its eligibility conditions. The freedom to keep another import supplier is valuable, but the 4p export rate is much lower than OVO's exclusive products. The complete household calculation must therefore compare import savings with lost export income.
OVO's standard tariff follows the broader Smart Export Guarantee technology rules. Eligible technologies include: Solar photovoltaic panels Onshore wind turbines Hydroelectric generation Anaerobic digestion Micro combined heat and power The total installed capacity must not exceed 5 megawatts. Micro combined heat and power is subject to a lower maximum capacity of 50 kilowatts. The installation must be located in Great Britain and satisfy the applicable SEG conditions. Most domestic solar systems are far below the 5 MW limit. The broader capacity allowance may still matter for farms, estates, community-energy schemes and larger commercial or mixed-use properties.
OVO currently requires applicants to have a smart meter capable of measuring exported electricity. The meter must provide half-hourly export readings so OVO can calculate the electricity sent to the grid. If the existing meter does not support export recording, a suitable meter may need to be installed or configured before the SEG account can operate. A smart meter may contain separate import and export registers. The import register records electricity purchased from the network. The export register records electricity travelling in the opposite direction. Customers asked to provide a manual reading must ensure that they select the export register rather than the ordinary household import reading.
OVO asks for an MCS-certified renewable-energy system or an accepted equivalent. The Microgeneration Certification Scheme provides evidence that eligible small-scale generation equipment and its installation meet recognised technical and consumer standards. Applicants normally need to upload their certification and supporting documents during the SEG application. OVO says it reviews the information, creates or transfers the export MPAN where required and confirms when the export tariff becomes active. Customers with battery storage may also need to provide a detailed battery schematic or line diagram. This should show how the battery, generation equipment, property and grid connection are arranged. The documentation helps OVO determine which electricity is eligible renewable export and how the system measures electricity moving between the panels, battery, home and network.
The export account requires its own Meter Point Administration Number, normally called an export MPAN. This is different from the import MPAN shown on the household electricity bill. Where an export MPAN does not already exist, OVO can arrange for one to be created. Where the customer is changing SEG supplier, the existing export MPAN can be transferred to OVO. The customer should not assume payments begin from the day the generation system is installed or the application is submitted. OVO confirms when the SEG account is live. Electricity exported before the agreed commencement date may not qualify for payment under the tariff. OVO says a complete application may be set up within approximately four weeks, although missing certificates, metering problems or network-registration issues can extend the process.
OVO makes SEG payments every three months. It normally collects the required smart-meter readings in March, June, September and December. Payment is then made approximately eight weeks after the end of the relevant meter-reading month. Customers on the standard 4p SEG tariff receive the payment into their bank account. This differs from SEG Beyond Exclusive and SEG Install Exclusive, where export credits are normally applied directly to the customer's OVO energy account. Where a reading is not received automatically, OVO may ask the customer to submit one manually. A customer should monitor both the smart meter and SEG statements. A meter communication fault can delay readings and payments, particularly if OVO is not also the household's import supplier.
A customer cannot receive both a Feed-in Tariff export payment and a Smart Export Guarantee payment for the same exported electricity. An existing FIT customer can opt out of the export part of FIT and move the measured export to SEG. The customer may continue receiving the FIT generation payment, provided the installation remains eligible and the relevant scheme rules are followed. OVO states that customers can normally opt in or out of FIT export only once during a twelve-month period. This decision should be made carefully. Some older FIT installations receive deemed export payments based on an assumed percentage of total generation. SEG instead pays according to the electricity actually measured as leaving the property. A household consuming most of its solar generation internally may export less than the deemed calculation assumes. Moving from a valuable historic FIT export arrangement to a 4p measured SEG tariff could therefore reduce income. The existing FIT provider should confirm the effect in writing before the customer gives up any export entitlement.
A home battery can be used alongside an eligible renewable-generation system. It may store surplus solar electricity during the day and release it later when household demand is low or grid export is preferred. OVO asks battery applicants for installation diagrams so it can understand the direction of electricity flow. Customers should not assume that electricity imported from the grid, stored in a battery and later exported will automatically qualify for SEG payment. The Smart Export Guarantee is intended to reward eligible low-carbon generation exported to the network. Clear metering and system configuration may be needed to distinguish renewable export from electricity originally purchased from the grid. The financial case for battery export is particularly weak at 4p per kWh where the same stored energy could be used to avoid buying household electricity at a much higher import rate.
For most households on the standard 4p tariff, using renewable electricity inside the property will be more valuable than exporting it. Suppose the household electricity import rate is 25p per kWh. Using one solar-generated kilowatt hour directly avoids spending 25p. Exporting it earns only 4p. If the household later buys a replacement unit from the grid, direct use would have been worth 21p more than export. Useful self-consumption could include running appliances during daylight, heating water, charging a home battery or charging an electric vehicle from surplus solar production. Export normally represents electricity the household cannot use or store economically.
OVO currently advertises three household SEG options: Standard SEG pays 4p per kWh and allows the import supply to remain with another provider. SEG Beyond Exclusive pays 12p per kWh where OVO supplies the home's electricity and the installation meets the exclusive product conditions. SEG Install Exclusive pays up to 20p per kWh where OVO installed the qualifying solar and battery system and also supplies the household's electricity. Solar-only OVO installations currently receive 15p where the remaining conditions are met. For 2,500 kWh of annual export: Standard SEG would pay ยฃ100. SEG Beyond Exclusive would pay ยฃ300. SEG Install Exclusive at 15p would pay ยฃ375. SEG Install Exclusive at 20p would pay ยฃ500. The difference between the standard and highest rate could therefore reach ยฃ400 a year at that export level. However, changing import supplier or purchasing new equipment purely to qualify for a higher export rate may introduce other costs.
OVO says customers can change SEG provider at any time. The new provider normally arranges the export transfer, while the existing provider prepares the final payment. There is no advertised tariff exit fee for the standard SEG product. When moving home, the SEG contract ends because the generation installation remains at the property. OVO asks the outgoing owner to provide 28 days' notice and a closing export reading. The new owner does not automatically inherit the previous owner's SEG contract. They must provide evidence of ownership and apply for their own export arrangement.
OVO's standard Smart Export Guarantee is most suitable for a customer who wants to retain an import tariff with another energy company. It can also suit eligible renewable technologies that fall within the wider 5 MW SEG capacity limit rather than OVO's more restrictive exclusive tariff requirements. Its principal weakness is the 4p export rate. A household with substantial annual export should compare competing suppliers carefully because even a small difference in pence per kilowatt hour can produce a meaningful annual income change. For a solar household exporting only a few hundred kilowatt hours, preserving a valuable EV or heat-pump import tariff elsewhere may be more important than obtaining the highest possible export price. OVO's standard SEG tariff provides supplier independence and access for a broad range of eligible generators. Its role is not to offer OVO's highest export income, but to provide a straightforward export arrangement without requiring the household to move its imported electricity to OVO.
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