Panels exporting electricity does not automatically mean you have an active export-payment agreement. In Great Britain, the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a supplier arrangement with eligibility, metering and contract conditions. Northern Ireland is outside the GB SEG system.
Check five separate milestones
- Installation evidence. Collect the commissioning date, final system details and any MCS or other certification accepted by the supplier.
- Network paperwork. Keep any DNO reference and applicable notification or approval. This is not the same as an export-payment account.
- Export metering. Ask which register or metering data the supplier will use, and whether a distinct export MPAN has been set up. The import MPAN on the bill must not simply be assumed to serve the same purpose.
- Supplier acceptance. Keep the SEG or other export tariff application, reference, contractual conditions and confirmed effective date.
- First recognized payment. Match the supplier’s stated export period and kWh to the actual export register and payment statement.
An installer saying “the paperwork is submitted” does not establish that an export supplier has accepted an application. Likewise, a meter showing exported kWh does not establish that an earlier period will be paid retrospectively.
If there is no export MPAN
Find out who owns the next action, rather than asking every company the same broad question. Write to the export supplier: “Can you confirm whether my export MPAN is registered and, if it is not, which organization is responsible for the next step and what evidence is outstanding?”
Keep the response alongside the installer and DNO references. Never invent a number or substitute another identifier in an application.
If the supplier has not paid
Check the contractual start date first. Then ask for the export readings recognized, the relevant period, the planned statement/payment date and any missing evidence. Compare full periods, not app graphs with different clocks.
A concise message is more effective than an accusation: “My export tariff application reference is [reference]. Please confirm the accepted start date, the meter data received for [period], and the expected payment date. If the account is not live, please identify the exact unresolved step.”
Do not compare export tariffs by the headline rate alone
Review whether the offer is fixed or variable, its term, import-supplier conditions, eligibility, time-of-use rules, payment frequency, battery-related restrictions if relevant, and exit conditions. A higher export rate can be offset by higher import costs. Compare the whole annual electricity position.
Existing FIT agreements are different
Some older installations retain Feed-in Tariff (FIT) rights. The generation and export elements are distinct, and the same exported electricity cannot receive both FIT export and SEG export payment. Do not cancel a legacy arrangement casually. Read the inherited-system checklist.
Tariff eligibility, supplier rules and payment terms change. Check current guidance from Ofgem and the actual supplier contract before acting.
The book Solar Panels Installed — Now What? includes a five-stage export register and ready-to-send messages.