ScottishPower owes £1,000 in solar payments – and thousands more could be waiting

The Guardian has reported that ScottishPower owes one customer £1,000 in solar panel payments, with the company admitting to a ‘system error’ that delayed payments for more than a year. For the roughly 1.2 million UK households with solar panels, this is a worrying sign that the financial promise of rooftop solar – payback in 10–15 years – can be broken by the very companies supposed to deliver it.

As The Guardian reports, the customer was owed for electricity exported to the grid under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), a scheme that replaced the older Feed-in Tariff in 2020. ScottishPower blamed a ‘billing system fault’ – but the customer had to chase the company for months before receiving any payment.

Who qualifies – and who doesn’t

Under the SEG, suppliers with more than 150,000 customers must offer at least one export tariff, paying for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of solar electricity sent to the grid. Rates vary: the lowest are around 4p/kWh, the highest (from Octopus Energy) reach 15p/kWh for some customers. A typical 3.5 kWp system exports about 2,500 kWh a year, meaning annual payments of £100–£375 depending on the tariff. The £1,000 owed in The Guardian case suggests either a very large system or a very long delay – possibly both.

The catch is that the SEG is not automatic. You must have a smart meter or an export meter, and you must actively choose an export tariff. Many households on older Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) are still paid via that scheme, but those who installed solar after 1 April 2020 are on SEG – and some have never received a penny because they didn’t sign up with a supplier offering a tariff. Ofgem data from 2023 showed that over 300,000 households with solar panels were not on any export tariff, missing out on an average of £120 a year.

What it costs a typical 3-bed semi

For a typical home with a 4 kWp system, generating roughly 3,400 kWh annually and exporting about 50% of that (1,700 kWh), a 5p/kWh tariff yields £85 a year. At 15p/kWh, that rises to £255. The Guardian’s case suggests ScottishPower was paying nothing for over a year, costing that household £1,000 – likely because they had a larger system or a higher export ratio. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that a well-chosen SEG tariff can improve a solar installation’s payback period by two to three years, from 12 years down to nine or ten.

But if payments are delayed or missed entirely, that payback stretches. Worse, the customer has no recourse except to complain to the supplier, then to the Energy Ombudsman. Ofgem has fined suppliers for billing failures before – EDF was fined £1.5m in 2022 for delayed payments – but individual households still face months of chasing.

What you can do now

First, check your export meter readings. If you have a generation meter (from the FiT era) or a smart meter, compare the export figure on your bill with what your solar inverter reports. A discrepancy of more than 10% over a quarter is a red flag.

Second, switch supplier if you’re unhappy. The SEG allows you to change your export tariff at any time, even if you’re locked into an electricity supply contract. Compare rates on the Energy Saving Trust’s website or via comparison sites like Switchcraft. Octopus Energy, E.ON Next, and British Gas currently offer competitive rates above 10p/kWh.

Third, if you’ve been underpaid, contact your supplier in writing. The Guardian’s case shows that persistence works – but it took the customer over a year. If you get no resolution within eight weeks, escalate to the Energy Ombudsman. The ombudsman can order compensation of up to £10,000 for distress and inconvenience, on top of the unpaid amount.

Finally, consider installing a battery if you haven’t already. Storing excess solar electricity for evening use reduces the amount you export, but also reduces your reliance on grid electricity at peak rates (currently around 28p/kWh under the price cap). A 5 kWh battery costs roughly £1,500–£2,000 installed and can cut your export by 30–50%, increasing self-consumption and reducing your bill by £200–£300 a year. That’s often a better financial move than chasing a few pence per kWh from a supplier that might not pay on time.

Households on standard variable tariffs can apply to switch their SEG tariff through their supplier’s website. Eligibility for compensation claims closes six years from the date of the underpayment, but the sooner you act, the better. Check your last four quarterly statements today.