FiT Generation Payments vs SEG Export Payments

The short answer: no. A higher advertised export rate can look attractive, but the right comparison depends on what you currently receive, how your export is measured, how much electricity you genuinely send to the grid and the terms offered by the SEG supplier.

This is one of those solar decisions that sounds straightforward until you look at what is actually being compared.

A homeowner may see a Smart Export Guarantee rate that is considerably higher than their Feed-in Tariff export rate and reasonably conclude that switching must increase their income. Sometimes it will. Sometimes it will not.

The important point is that FiT generation payments and FiT export payments are not the same thing. Before changing anything, separate them and calculate the value of each part using your own system data.

First, separate the two parts of the Feed-in Tariff

Eligible FiT installations can receive two different payments:

• A generation payment for the renewable electricity the system produces.
• An export payment for electricity treated as being sent back to the grid.

For many smaller FiT installations, export has historically been deemed rather than measured. That means the supplier assumes that a fixed proportion of the electricity generated is exported, whether the household actually exports that amount or not.

The generation payment is the valuable part many homeowners are understandably anxious about protecting. Moving from the FiT export element to SEG does not automatically mean surrendering the FiT generation payment. However, the arrangement must be handled correctly with the relevant FiT licensee and SEG supplier.

What does the Smart Export Guarantee pay for?

SEG pays for electricity that is actually exported to the grid and recorded by a suitable meter. Suppliers set their own rates, contract lengths and eligibility conditions. The tariff must be above zero, but there is no single government-set SEG rate.

That creates choice, but it also means the headline rate is only one part of the decision. A supplier may require half-hourly readings, particular metering arrangements, compatible equipment or a linked import tariff. Fixed and variable export tariffs can also behave differently.

Can a FiT homeowner receive SEG?

Most eligible FiT installations can apply for SEG if the metering and other requirements are met. But a homeowner cannot receive both a FiT export payment and a SEG payment for the same exported electricity.

In practice, a FiT customer considering SEG normally needs to opt out of the FiT export payment through their FiT licensee before registering for SEG. The FiT generation payment can continue, provided the installation remains eligible and the correct process is followed.

Before opting out: obtain written confirmation from your FiT licensee and prospective SEG supplier explaining exactly what will continue, what will stop, what metering is required and whether the decision can be reversed. Do not rely on a headline tariff comparison alone.

Why the higher rate may not produce the higher payment

The comparison is not simply FiT rate versus SEG rate. It is:

A household that consumes most of its solar electricity on site may export less than the deemed amount used under FiT. In that situation, a higher SEG rate could still produce a lower annual export payment.

The opposite can also be true. A household that exports a large proportion of its generation, perhaps because the property is empty during the day, may benefit from measured export at a competitive SEG rate.

A simple comparison using your own figures

Use the following method before making a decision:

• Find the FiT statement showing your current export rate and annual export payment.
• Confirm whether your FiT export is deemed or metered.
• Obtain at least twelve months of generation and measured export data where available.
• Check the proposed SEG rate, contract term, metering requirements and any linked tariff conditions.
• Calculate the likely annual SEG income using measured export, not total solar generation.
• Allow for possible changes in household use, battery operation, EV charging and future tariffs.

If reliable export data is unavailable, ask the prospective supplier how it proposes to measure export and whether historic smart-meter information can be used to make a realistic comparison.

How battery storage changes the calculation

A battery can reduce export by storing surplus solar for use later. That may lower export income while increasing the value of electricity used within the home. Those are two different benefits and they should be assessed together.

Some tariffs also allow a battery to charge from the grid when electricity is cheaper and export later when rates are higher. That can be useful, but only where the supplier permits it and the battery, inverter, warranty and control settings are suitable.

A battery should not be programmed solely around an attractive export window without considering cycling losses, battery degradation, import costs, household demand and the value of keeping stored energy available for use in the home.

Questions to ask before changing anything

• Will my FiT generation payment continue unchanged?
• Exactly which FiT payment am I opting out of?
• Is my existing export deemed or measured?
• What meter and half-hourly data requirements apply?
• Does the SEG tariff require me to buy electricity from the same supplier?
• Is the export rate fixed, variable or restricted to particular times?
• Can electricity imported into a battery later qualify for export payment?
• What happens if the supplier changes or withdraws the tariff?
• Can I return to the FiT export arrangement, and under what conditions?

When switching may make sense

Moving from FiT export to SEG may be worth considering when measured export is consistently high, the SEG terms are competitive, suitable metering is already in place and the expected annual payment is clearly better after using realistic figures.

When staying with FiT export may make sense

Remaining with the existing FiT export arrangement may be sensible when deemed export is favourable, actual export is relatively low, the difference in annual income is small or the proposed SEG tariff introduces conditions and uncertainty that outweigh the potential gain.

The decision is not really about the highest rate

The best decision is the one that produces the most appropriate overall result for your household, not the one with the largest number in an advertisement.

Separate generation from export. Compare deemed export with measured export. Read the supplier terms. Then consider how your home, battery and electricity use may change over the coming years.

If the figures still favour SEG after that examination, switching may be entirely sensible. If they do not, keeping the existing FiT export arrangement can be equally rational.

If this were my home, I would not opt out of anything until I had the current FiT statement, twelve months of generation and export evidence, the complete SEG terms and written confirmation of what happens to each payment. Once those four things are on the table, the decision becomes much clearer.