British Gas SEG (Export & Earn Plus) — what it pays, how it compares.

British Gas SEG product — Export & Earn Plus

British Gas operates a single SEG tariff in 2026: Export & Earn Plus, paying 6.4p/kWh on exported solar electricity. It requires bundled import + export with British Gas — you cannot sign Export & Earn Plus as a SEG-only contract without British Gas import.

Payment cadence is quarterly, triggered on the standard meter reading cycle. Smart meter capable of half-hourly export readings is required (most modern UK commercial meters qualify; British Gas installs one if needed at no charge).

How British Gas SEG compares to the rest of the UK market

British Gas Export & Earn Plus at 6.4p/kWh sits in the bottom tier of UK commercial SEG products in 2026. The market splits into three bands:

Top tier (12-15p+ flat, plus dynamic peaks of 25-40p)

• Octopus Outgoing Fixed — 15p flat (requires Octopus import)
• Octopus Outgoing Agile — dynamic, 14-18p average, 25-40p peak
• EDF Export Variable — 12-18p banded, 13p typical
• EDF Export Standard — 12p flat (SEG-only contract available)
• Scottish Power SmartGen+ — 12p flat (requires SP import)

Middle tier (5-8p flat)

• British Gas Export & Earn Plus — 6.4p flat (requires BG import)
• Good Energy Generation Tariff — 5-8p flat
• E.ON Next Export — 5.5p flat
• OVO SEG — 4-5.5p flat

Bottom tier (3-4p flat)

• Shell Energy Export — 3.5p flat

British Gas SEG rates 2026 (Export & Earn Plus, Export Premium, Export Extra)

British Gas markets a small family of export products, all gated to British Gas import. The table below sets out the indicative 2026 rates, the system-size band each applies to, and the eligibility — including the tiered structure that takes effect from 6 July 2026.

Indicative 2026 rates. Export & Earn Plus requires a British Gas import contract; the system must be MCS-certified and under 5MW with half-hourly export metering. From 6 July 2026 the rate is tiered by system size. Always confirm the live figure with British Gas before signing.

British Gas SEG rate vs the UK market 2026

The single most useful view for a commercial operator is the whole market side by side. The table below names every major supplier’s indicative 2026 export rate so you can see exactly where British Gas’s tiered 12p/8p Export & Earn Plus actually sits — near the bottom for any array over 15kW. The column that decides switching is “customer required?”: several top payers lock you into their import supply, while EDF pays switch-free.

Indicative 2026 rates for comparison; confirm current figures with each supplier. See our full SEG comparison, Octopus SEG, EDF SEG, E.ON SEG, Scottish Power SEG and OVO SEG pages for detail.

How much will the British Gas export tariff cut cost a commercial system?

The headline rate change matters most at commercial scale, because almost every commercial array is above 15kW and therefore lands on the lower 8p tier. The table below sizes the annual export-revenue loss from the old 15.1p flat rate to the new 8p tier across four typical commercial system sizes — extending the single-example figure competitors quote into a full commercial range.

Indicative figures. Assumes roughly 600 kWh exported per kWp per year for a daytime-light commercial load; your actual export share depends on self-consumption and battery storage. Calculated on the old 15.1p flat rate versus the new above-15kW 8p tier.

Most commercial arrays exceed 15kW — so they land on the 8p tier

The tiering threshold of 15kW is residential-scale. A 15kW rooftop array is roughly 30-40 panels — a large house or a very small SME unit. By contrast, a typical commercial roof carries an array of 50kWp to 500kWp or more: warehouses, distribution centres, factories, schools, care homes, hotels and agricultural sheds all sit well above the threshold. In practice that means virtually every commercial, public-sector and farm solar system is paid the lower 8p tier, not the 12p sub-15kW rate. The consumer-facing brand page ignores this entirely; it is the single most important fact for a commercial owner reading about the British Gas export tariff.

Is the British Gas export tariff still worth it for commercial solar?

Here is the honest, independent verdict — the one a brand sales page and an installer lead-gen piece both have a reason to dodge:

• Sub-15kW systems (small SME units): the 12p tier is mid-table — acceptable if you already take British Gas for import and don’t want the hassle of switching, but still beaten by EDF (12p switch-free) and Octopus (15p with import).
• Above-15kW systems (almost all commercial solar): the 8p tier is weak. It pays roughly half of Octopus Outgoing Fixed (15p) and a third less than EDF Export Standard (12p). For any genuine commercial array, British Gas export is no longer a sensible place to leave your export revenue.

Our independent best pick for commercial export in 2026: if you can switch import, Octopus Outgoing Fixed at 15p (or Flux for battery sites) pays the most. If your import is on a fixed-term contract you don’t want to break, EDF Export Standard at 12p is the highest-paying SEG-only contract you can sign without touching import — roughly 50% more than the British Gas 8p tier. For larger sites with high export volumes, a commercial Power Purchase Agreement can beat a flat SEG entirely; typical PPA export prices run above a flat 8p when volumes justify the contract. We model the export tariff alongside the capital-allowance funding on the install, so the comparison reflects your full position rather than the headline rate alone.

How to switch off British Gas SEG without changing your import supplier

Because British Gas Export & Earn Plus is gated to British Gas import, leaving its SEG does not mean you have to move your electricity supply. As independent funding specialists this is the part we handle for clients — the export contract and the import contract are separate, and you can change one without the other.

1. Confirm your contracts are separate — your SEG (export) agreement is distinct from your import supply. You can change the export contract without touching import; the only catch is that British Gas’s own rate requires you stay on British Gas import, so to get a better rate you switch the export contract to a different supplier.
2. Pick a higher-paying SEG-only supplier — EDF Export Standard at an indicative 12p flat accepts SEG-only contracts from non-import customers. It pays roughly 50% more than the British Gas above-15kW tier with no import switch.
3. Gather your documents — MCS certificate in the business name confirming the system is under 5MW, your export MPAN from your electricity bill, and confirmation of a smart or half-hourly export meter.
4. Apply for the new SEG contract — submit the new supplier’s SEG application online with the MCS certificate and meter point reference. There is no import switch and no break in your import supply.
5. New export tariff goes live — the export contract activates from the next billing cycle. The switch takes around 14 days, with no exit fees on standard SEG agreements and your import supply unchanged.

Business application mechanics — export MPAN, metering and separate payment

A few mechanics trip commercial applicants up, because SEG works differently from a normal import switch:

• Export MPAN — your meter point needs an export MPAN (the supply number for exported electricity), created by your DNO and enrolled when you set up the SEG contract. It is separate from your import MPAN.
• Smart / half-hourly export metering — SEG pays on actual metered export, so the meter must record exported kWh. Most SMETS2 and commercial CT meters qualify; if yours can’t, the supplier arranges an upgrade.
• SEG is paid separately from your import tariff — your export earnings arrive as a distinct payment (usually quarterly), not as a credit netted against your import bill.
• You can be on different suppliers for import and export — except where the SEG product itself requires bundled import, as British Gas Export & Earn Plus does. This is exactly why switching export-only is normally straightforward.

Independent funding specialist — why our verdict is impartial

We are not British Gas, and we are not an installer chasing a commission. We take no supplier affiliation and no installer fee, so we have no reason to talk up a tariff or steer you toward a particular system. That is the whole point of an independent funding specialist: our “is it still worth it / who pays more / how to switch” verdict is the one the brand page cannot give you and a sales-led PPA pitch will not. We turn an export-rate question into a complete commercial-solar funding case — modelling the export revenue alongside Full Expensing (a 25% effective tax saving on solar capex), 0% VAT and any active grants — then we write the applications for you.

The economic case for switching off British Gas SEG

For a typical UK commercial solar operator on British Gas Export & Earn Plus, the case for switching the export contract is straightforward. Worked example for a 500kWp commercial site exporting 120,000 kWh/year:

• British Gas Export & Earn Plus: 120,000 × 6.4p = £7,680/year
• EDF Export Standard (SEG-only switch, no import change): 120,000 × 12p = £14,400/year — £6,720/year more
• Octopus Outgoing Fixed (requires Octopus import): 120,000 × 15p = £18,000/year — £10,320/year more
• Octopus Outgoing Agile + battery (active management): ~£21,600/year — £13,920/year more

Over a 25-year system life, the differential between British Gas Export & Earn Plus and Octopus Outgoing Fixed compounds to approximately £260,000 of cumulative revenue (CPI-adjusted). On a typical £350k installed cost, switching SEG alone moves the payback period by 1.5-2 years.

How to switch off British Gas SEG (without changing import)

If you have British Gas import on a fixed-term contract that you don\'t want to change, the best SEG-only switch is to EDF Export Standard at 12p flat. EDF accepts SEG-only contracts from non-import customers. The switch takes 14 days; there are no exit fees on standard SEG agreements.

If you\'re willing to switch import as well, the highest-paying option is Octopus Outgoing Fixed at 15p flat or Octopus Outgoing Agile for sites with battery storage. Octopus Energy is consistently rated highly on customer service among UK suppliers.

British Gas alternatives for commercial solar overall

SEG is just one component of the broader 2026 commercial solar funding stack. For UK commercial solar operators on British Gas, the active routes that materially affect project economics:

• Full Expensing — 25% effective tax saving on solar capex
• 0% VAT on commercial solar
• SEG tariff optimisation — switching to a higher-paying supplier
• Power Purchase Agreements — alternative zero-capex structure
• Active 2026 grants and funding

Related supplier-specific guides

• Octopus SEG tariff (highest-paying)
• EDF SEG tariff
• OVO SEG tariff
• All UK SEG suppliers compared