Smart generation payments

sevenhills

Good Energy is introducing smart FIT export payments. These work by using smart meter readings to record exactly how much electricity you export to the grid. This means you’ll get paid for the actual amount of electricity you export, rather than an estimate.By generating electricity, you’re making Britain greener. That’s because all the electricity you don’t use at home feeds into the national grid, contributing to the total amount of renewable power.  Important information about smart FIT export paymentsYou will remain on the same unit rates as your existing Feed-in Tariff contract. You're currently paid for exporting a deemed 50% of everything you generate. If you export more than this, you'll earn more than you do currently. If you export less, you'll earn less. Smart export payments don’t affect your generation payment, which makes up the majority of your quarterly FIT payments. Read more about smart FIT export paymentsYou will be moved over to smart export in the next 6 months. We'll contact you closer to the time to let you know when we're moving you over but there's nothing you need to do to switch over. If you have any questions, please email smartexport@goodenergy.co.uk.So the 50% export guarantee is getting scrapped, I thought it was a 25 year contract?When it says that it won't affect my generation payments, of course it will, I will receive less.

[Deleted User]

It was only a question of time given that more people have smart meters and batteries. I can’t find the reference but the change was agreed to some time ago.

sevenhills

[Deleted User] said:

It was only a question of time given that more people have smart meters and batteries. I can’t find the reference but the change was agreed to some time ago.

But it's a contract that lasts for 25 years, FITs also rise by RPI inflation, could they change that too?

[Deleted User]

Best check your own FIT agreement but mine definitely says something to the effect that you can only get deemed export (i.e. the assumption that 50% of what you generate is exported) if you don't have a way of providing export readings. If you have a smart meter, you can provide export readings. So insisting on using actual export readings rather than a 50% assumption if you have a smart meter is entirely within the rules of the agreement and all very clear. For most folk, the difference is quite small anyway so not something to get too concerned about.

The contract hasn't changed and it is being honoured exactly as written in my case. The change is I now have a smart meter so have to provide export readings because that's what the contract says.

[Deleted User]

sevenhills said:

[Deleted User] said:

It was only a question of time given that more people have smart meters and batteries. I can’t find the reference but the change was agreed to some time ago.

But it's a contract that lasts for 25 years, FITs also rise by RPI inflation, could they change that too?

No one is changing your FIT payments. The change is simply moving your export payments from deemed to measured.

sevenhills

I guess the reading is somewhere to be found, but I have never seen it, with my first generation smart meter.
I submit reading every quarter, if I remember. I had a large payment last year, after my panels were cleaned, but the last payment was small. Waiting for the most recent one.

[Deleted User]

It has to be said that getting the export reading off my smart meter is anything but intuitive, but once you know which buttons to press in which order it's just a question of making a note of how it's done and keeping them to hand at meter reading times. Worth having a look at your statement and establishing how much of your payment is for export - the older the panels, the higher the FIT element so the smaller the export payment as a proportion of the amount you receive.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] said:

It has to be said that getting the export reading off my smart meter is anything but intuitive, but once you know which buttons to press in which order it's just a question of making a note of how it's done and keeping them to hand at meter reading times. Worth having a look at your statement and establishing how much of your payment is for export - the older the panels, the higher the FIT element so the smaller the export payment as a proportion of the amount you receive.

I assume that Good Energy will apply for an Export MPAN. They will then ‘pull’ export readings as they do for import. This is how SEG payments are made: one meter with two MPANs.

matt_drummer

But, if they are going to pay only the FIT deemed export rate, you could move to another energy supplier and get paid more per Kwh of export.

sevenhills

matt_drummer said:

But, if they are going to pay only the FIT deemed export rate, you could move to another energy supplier and get paid more per Kwh of export.

I may well do that, I just need the information on the paperwork.

matt_drummer

sevenhills said:

You will remain on the same unit rates as your existing Feed-in Tariff contract. 
You're currently paid for exporting a deemed 50% of everything you generate. If you export more than this, you'll earn more than you do currently. If you export less, you'll earn less. 

I think they have already told you what you will be paid?