Export Tariffs – Get paid for your energy
In their infinite wisdom the government decided to pull the plug on the Feed in Tariff for new solar PV installs at the end of March 2019.
The feed in tariff was split in to two parts, Generation and Export. Export being the energy you don’t use and goes back to the grid.
Originally there was no smart technology to measure the amount being exported, so regardless of how much you actually exported you were paid for 50% of what you generated. This was known as deemed export.
With Octopus Energy there are three export options available:
- Smart Export Guarantee (3p per unit)
- Outgoing Fixed (5.5 per unit)
- Outgoing Agile ( half-hourly price changes based on day-ahead wholesale rates, helping you make the most of the energy you generate, with pricing very much in the same vein as their Agile Import Tariff.)
Note; to qualify for exports your Solar, Wind or Water generation needs to be registered with the DNO so that you are granted an export MPAN number (Meter Point Administration Number). All discussed in the Outgoing Octopus FAQ.
Import / Export Tariff Combinations
Which import tariff you are on dictates which export tariff you can choose.
| Import Tariff | Export Options |
| Go / Go Faster | Smart Export Guarantee (3p per unit) |
| Agile, Flexi, Standard, Fixed | Outgoing Fixed (5.5p), Outgoing Agile (variable) |
| Tesla | 10p per unit |
| Have electric from other providers | Smart Export Guarantee (3p per unit) |
So the only real headline is that you cannot mix any of the Go variants with Outgoing Agile.
Otherwise every day you could import at 5p and export and much much higher during the 4pm to 7pm peak. Talk about having your cake and eating it!!
During September 2021 export prices on Outgoing Agile peaked at £2.38 per unit.
Note: for those with batteries there is nothing stopping you charging them from Solar and/or grid and then force discharging when it is profitable.
You can read all the FAQ on Outgoing Octopus via the Octopus website.
You can also read more about the Smart Export Guarantee scheme over on the Which website.
If you find this information useful and are thinking of joining Octopus Energy, please consider using my referral code to help support running costs of the website.
Using this referral code will gift you £50 of free credit after signup: https://share.octopus.energy/linen-pearl-869
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We can also be found on Twitter, please follow us @energystatsuk for daily Agile tariff pricing graphs and summaries.
Also, be sure to check out our Dashboard, Download Historical Data and OctoChargeCalc features to help you decide whether these tariffs are the right fit for you.
Note: The past performance of energy pricing is not necessarily a guide to the future.
Regional Outgoing Agile Rates
Note: there are 14 different geographical energy areas in the UK and each one has slightly different pricing as you can see in today’s graph below.
Choose one of the links below to see individual pricing just for that region.
You can also download historical data for all 14 regional areas in CSV format via our Download Data page.
How much extra could I earn each year?
Table showing export tariff options and indicative system size / annual generation (kWh).
Deemed export line shows the amount you’d be getting for your exports under the current FIT 50% arrangement.
| Tariff | % of Generation Used / Unused | Unit Price (p) | 1000 | 2000 | 3000 | 4000 | 5000 |
| FIT Deemed Export | 50% / 50% | 0.055 | £ 27.50 | £ 55.00 | £ 82.50 | £ 110.00 | £ 137.50 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 90% / 10% | 0.055 | £ 5.50 | £ 11.00 | £ 16.50 | £ 22.00 | £ 27.50 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 80% / 20% | 0.055 | £ 11.00 | £ 22.00 | £ 33.00 | £ 44.00 | £ 55.00 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 70% / 30% | 0.055 | £ 16.50 | £ 33.00 | £ 49.50 | £ 66.00 | £ 82.50 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 60% / 40% | 0.055 | £ 22.00 | £ 44.00 | £ 66.00 | £ 88.00 | £ 110.00 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 50% / 50% | 0.055 | £ 27.50 | £ 55.00 | £ 82.50 | £ 110.00 | £ 137.50 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 40% / 60% | 0.055 | £ 33.00 | £ 66.00 | £ 99.00 | £ 132.00 | £ 165.00 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 30% / 70% | 0.055 | £ 38.50 | £ 77.00 | £ 115.50 | £ 154.00 | £ 192.50 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 20% / 80% | 0.055 | £ 44.00 | £ 88.00 | £ 132.00 | £ 176.00 | £ 220.00 |
| Fixed Outgoing | 10% / 90% | 0.055 | £ 49.50 | £ 99.00 | £ 148.50 | £ 198.00 | £ 247.50 |