[Lee_EONNext]

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).

With the new rates being announced we thought now would be a good time for us to talk SEG but first a little about me.

I've been around for a month or so now on the community and have had the pleasure of speaking to some of you in my brief stint here already.

I joined Eon in 2014 within the FIT Team. My initial role was on the customer service team taking calls. Within a few months I had moved onto the inspections and the payments team. Fast forward a few years and I'm working on new applications, terms and conditions and Multi Site Generators (MSG)

I enjoyed my time in the FIT team and Complaints. The knowledge I have accrued over the years has helped massively with complaints. In 2019 when SEG started, we had some new applications coming in and a ton of questions, what's the difference between FIT and SEG was quite common.

I had a brief stint away from the Energy world, however I was back within 6 months and joined Eon Next, where I've been an Energy Specialist since October 2021 and now I'm here with you amazing people.

So onto SEG,

WHAT IS SEG?

The SEG scheme is what replaced the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme which ended on 1 April 2019 for new applicants. Smart being the device which records the export, and export being the unused generation going back to the grid. One of the big differences is that FIT Generators are paid for 100% generation and either a deemed Export rate or actual Export depending on the facility to record this. With SEG the payments are for all of the units that are Exported back to the Grid.

The units you generate will either be used at the time of generation, be exported to the grid or be stored in a battery device if you have one. A battery stores the energy ready for use at a later time.

The latest rate has been confirmed and for the Next Export Exclusive - 16.5 pence per kWh paid for exported electricity.

In my opinion I feel this is a real show of intent with this rate, you also have the element of saving on your usage bill. I like to think of this as 'use it or export it'

The requirements for the Next Export Exclusive are,

• Available to all customers who have their electricity supplied by E.ON Next.
• Available to any customers who bought their solar installation from E.ON solar and do not have their electricity supplied by E.ON Next.
• 12-month fixed term export tariff.
• No exit fees

We also have the Next Export rate which is,

• Available to all customers who do not have their electricity supplied by E.ON Next and have generators up to a maximum capacity of 5MW.
• Available to all customers who have had their solar installation installed by E.ON solar on a grant and have generators up to a maximum capacity of 5MW.
• 12-month fixed term export tariff.
• No exit fees.
• 3 pence per kWh paid for exported electricity.

SEG. ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?

Here are the types of installations which may bring you eligibility for SEG:

• Onshore Wind.

With the installation of a wind turbine, kinetic energy from wind can be used to generate electricity that can be used in your home or business.

• Solar photovoltaic or solar PV.

Solar panels are made up from solar cells with semiconducting properties that can generate electric current through a process called the photovoltaic (PV) effect and use an inverter to feed electricity into homes and businesses.

• Hydropower.

This uses the natural flow of water to generate energy, as the flow of water creates electricity through a turbine. Types of installation vary depending on the individual site and the source of water to be used.

• Anaerobic digestion (AD).

Anaerobic digestion creates a bio-gas that can be used as a fuel in its own right or to generate electricity through a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine.

• Micro combined heat and power or micro-CHP

This can generate electricity and heat at the same time, with the intention of maximising the use of both of these, instead of wasting either (which often occurs when energy is produced through more traditional methods).

Recording your Export.

You would also need to have an Export meter or a Smart meter set up to record your export back to the grid, on a half-hourly basis. The system would also need to be installed in Great Britain. Export meters can cost a maintenance fee yearly, however a smart meter, S1 & S2 do record this. If you have an install booked and need help locating the Export read on your Smart meters the team can assist with this.

You must also:

• Be the owner of the generation unit e.g. solar panels.
• Have a generation unit with a capacity of up to 5MW.
• Have a meter that is able to record energy that’s exported to the grid, on a half-hourly basis.
• Have an installation that is certified to the MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), or Flexi-Orb.
• Have the ability to opt out of FiT payments. or be prepared to lose your FiT export payment if you move to SEG.
• Not be receiving SEG payments from another licensee.

You would then need to apply for the SEG agreement, lots more to come on this.

I hope this helps, or sparks someones interest, I always find myself speaking to people who are interested in renewable energy. Has anyone ever looked into SEG or the different types of technology?

The majority of my time here has been around renewable energy, it's been something I have always been intrigued by and what the future holds. I often wonder, what's next?

[Lee_EONNext]

@jw007 I can give you concrete information on this no trouble at all.

The more questions the better as this could help other community members. Any answers I give you will be correct and alongside the SEG guidance and our terms and conditions, as above FIT/SEG is something I've worked on since I joined. Despite not being in the FIT/SEG team, I do still float and keep an eye on what's going on over there.

Is it just the tariff's and which one you would be eligible for?

Lets say you were an Eon Next customer at the point where you were due to be paid for your export, then you would be entitled to the Next Exclusive - If Eon Solar installed your system then again you're also entitled to this tariff.

If you were with another supplier for your Energy and another installer had installed your system. Then you would be entitled to the other tariff, which is the Next Export.

Obviously you would need to meet the other criteria such as, be the owner of the system, invoices, MCS certificate all that jazz however as tariffs go hopefully that's answered?

Let me know if you need anything else or need anything?

[JoeSoap]

@LeeDQ_EONNext

Nice to know a bit about you. Some great info here and a good place to send folks with any questions on the subject. Its also great to have a Nextie that might be able to answer any queries that are not addressed in your post rather than just directing people straight to the FIT/SEG Team 👍

[Lee_EONNext]

@JoeSoap Thank you, I often try to be the stop gap between our social media team and my old colleagues in FIT/SEG - If it can save people time and effort then that's a win win for everyone. 😁

[jw007]

Hi. I'm a little confused by the information above about eligibility for either of the Eon Next SEG schemes. Is it the case that you are only eligible if you have your solar panels installed by Eon? Or am I misreading it? Thanks.

[JoeSoap]

@jw007

It reads to me that Next Export Exclusive is available to all customers who have their electricity supplied by Eon Next.

https://www.eonnext.com/electricity-and-gas/smart-export-guarantee

You are also eligible if you don’t have your electricity supplied by them but you bought your installation from Eon Solar.

[Lee_EONNext]

@jw007 Let me know if you need anything else clarified. Do you have solar at the moment or are you thinking about it?

@JoeSoap Thank you for clarifying 😀

[jw007]

Thanks @LeeDQ_EONNext . I would really like someone who knows the answer to the question to give a definitive reply. I'm afraid that the information posted above is far from clear to me. I appreciate that @JoeSoap is trying to be helpful but I'm afraid that what might 'appear' to him is not how I read the conditions. Perhaps someone who has not had their solar panels installed by EONNext but who does receive the SEG could let us know?
Thanks

[JoeSoap]

@jw007

I'm not sure how much clearer...

The requirements for the Next Export Exclusive are,

• Available to all customers who have their electricity supplied by E.ON Next.

... could be.

You might wait in vain for someone 'who has not had their solar panels installed by EONNext but who does receive the SEG' to read your post and reply.
@LeeDQ_EONNext is an employee of Eon Next and the originator of the thread and has confirmed I have clarified the requirement you are concerned about. Why not contact the SEG Team on 0808 501 5218 to get a concrete answer?

[JoeSoap]

@jw007

I'm just reading through this thread again and hoping my previous post hasn't come across in a bad light as that was not my intention. Where I was trying to be brief and could only think to repeat the requirement about the availability to all customers who have their electricity supplied by Eon Next, @LeeDQ_EONNext provided a better explanation by using some examples. I hope things are clearer now.