Consultation outcome

The future for small-scale low-carbon generation: part A

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government
This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Impact Assessment

Draft modifications to Standard Conditions 57 and 58 of the Electricity Supply Licences: SEG arrangements

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Detail of outcome

Government has decided to introduce the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) in Great Britain from 1 January 2020. It will be available to technologies up to a capacity of 5MW, including:

  • solar photovoltaic
  • hydro
  • micro-combined heat and power (with an electrical capacity of 50kW or less)
  • onshore wind
  • anaerobic digestion

Licensed suppliers with more than 150,000 domestic customers will need to provide at least one export tariff which must always be above zero.

Exported power must be metered, with a meter capable of reporting exports on a half hourly basis. It must also be registered for settlement under the Balancing and Settlement Code.

To benefit from the SEG, projects must be compliant with relevant consumer protection standards, and those using anaerobic digestion must meet relevant sustainability criteria and feedstock requirements.

The government response here covers Part A and Part B, the draft licence modifications required to implement the SEG.

Next steps

The SEG will be implemented through new secondary legislation:

Detail of feedback received

We received well over 3,000 responses from a range of stakeholders to Part A, the policy part of this consultation, including from:

  • energy suppliers
  • renewable electricity developers
  • trade associations
  • community energy organisations
  • NGOs
  • local authorities
  • members of the public

The majority of responses supported the introduction of SEG. Key points included:

  • the need to introduce the SEG quickly to minimise the hiatus following closure of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme
  • the need to implement the simplest option to allow for innovation and flexibility
  • continued review of the operation and delivery of the SEG once implemented
  • suggesting a guaranteed market rate be paid for exported electricity

Original consultation

Summary

We're seeking views on the introduction of a mandatory supplier-led route to market for small-scale low-carbon generation: the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

This consultation considers future arrangements that would facilitate:

  • a route to market which supports small-scale low carbon generation of electricity
  • market innovation
  • lowering of costs for consumers
  • the promotion of the efficient use of electricity through price signals, for instance promoting export when the grid is experiencing high demand

Under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), government would legislate for suppliers to remunerate small-scale low-carbon generators for the electricity they export to the grid. The evidence gathered from this consultation will allow government to decide on whether, and how, to proceed with the SEG. This consultation is a result of a call for evidence.

An impact assessment is included as part of the consultation. The expected impacts are presented as a range to reflect the fact there is no central forecast.

29 April 2019 - part B of consultation

Part B of this consultation on modifications to the electricity supply licence conditions was launched on 29 April 2019.

Who should respond

We are seeking responses from:

  • consumers
  • trade associations
  • small-scale low-carbon electric generators
  • suppliers
  • aggregators
  • other interested parties

Minimum supplier size threshold: update 11 February 2019

The consultation proposes that larger electricity suppliers (those with greater than 250,000 domestic electricity supply customers) must offer small-scale generators a price per kWh for the electricity they export to the grid. It suggests that smaller suppliers may opt to voluntarily provide a SEG tariff but must adhere to the rules and guidance associated with the SEG.

Much of the feedback we have received from suppliers, generators and trade associations has suggested that the SEG obligation could usefully be extended to include a larger range of suppliers, for example by:

  • adopting a lower threshold of 150,000 domestic customers (in line with the obligations placed on suppliers in respect of other BEIS schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation scheme), or
  • not applying any minimum size threshold (so that all suppliers are included)

We welcome views from suppliers in those brackets:

Documents

The future for small-scale low-carbon generation: consultation on a Smart Export Guarantee

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Impact assessment

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Smart Export Guarantee: update on minimum supplier size threshold

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Updates to this page

Published 8 January 2019
Last updated 11 June 2019 + show all updates
  1. Draft modifications to the standard conditions of Electricity Supply Licences: SEG arrangements added.

  2. Government response and Impact Assessment published.

  3. Note added to encourage responses from smaller scale suppliers.

  4. First published.

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