EDF–So Energy Talks: What It Means for Solar Customers

EDF is in talks to take on So Energy's roughly 300,000 household customers, and if you are one of them with solar panels, the thing to watch is your export tariff. No deal has been agreed, so nothing changes today. But So Energy is both an energy supplier and a solar installer, and Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payments sit with the supplier, so it is worth understanding what could and could not move.

What has been reported about EDF and So Energy

The story was first broken by Sky News and confirmed by Reuters, and was picked up by Solar Power Portal on 8 September 2026. The key points:

• The seller is ESB. Ireland's Electricity Supply Board took a controlling stake in So Energy in 2021 and started a process to evaluate divestment options in July 2026, with PwC running the sale, according to Euronews.
• The buyer is not certain. EDF is reported to be in negotiations, but faces at least one rival bidder who has not been named.
• It is likely a customer-book deal. Industry sources expect EDF to take on the energy retail unit and its customers rather than buy the whole company. No price has been disclosed and no agreement has been reached.
• Scale. So Energy has about 300,000 household electricity customers. EDF has about 3 million customers across roughly 5 million accounts, per Euronews.

The consolidation theme is a familiar one this autumn. We covered the E.ON–OVO merger and what it means for solar and SEG customers in the same way, and the pattern for solar owners is similar: nothing happens until a deal is agreed and approved.

Why solar owners should pay attention

So Energy is not just a supplier. It also sells and installs solar and battery systems, and that matters because some export tariffs in the market are tied to who installed your system, not just who supplies your power. Reports so far describe EDF taking on the retail customer book. It is not clear whether the installation business is part of any deal, so treat that as unconfirmed.

What we can verify is what So Energy publishes today. Its SEG page lists So Export Flex at 4.5p per kWh including VAT, and states you do not need to buy electricity from So Energy to be paid for exports. In 2023 So Energy also offered 20p per kWh to customers who had a So Energy solar and battery system installed, as reported by Solar Power Portal. That older offer does not appear on the current SEG page we checked, so if you are on a premium rate, check your own agreement rather than assuming it will carry over.

What could change for customers

Because no terms have been announced, the honest answer is that nobody outside the negotiating parties knows. In general, when a supplier's customers move to another, the questions that matter to solar owners are:

• Import tariff: whether your current fixed or variable rate carries across on the same terms.
• Export tariff: whether your SEG rate, and any end date, is honoured or replaced by the new supplier's equivalent.
• Linked rates: whether a rate that depends on being an import customer, or on an installer relationship, survives.
• Payments and metering: that your export meter readings and any owed payments are handed over cleanly.

None of these are announced outcomes. They are the things to look for in whatever notice you receive.

What to do now

• Do nothing in a hurry. A negotiation is not a change to your contract. There is no need to switch on the strength of this report alone.
• Write down what you are on. Note your export tariff name, rate, any end date, and whether it is conditional on importing from So Energy. Our guide to how solar export payments work explains the basics.
• Remember import and export are separate. You can normally change your import supplier and export tariff independently, as covered in can you switch energy supplier with solar panels. Check how other suppliers compare in our SEG rates guide.
• Keep an eye on the price cap. The Ofgem price cap rises 4% to £1,723 for the typical household from 1 October 2026, and roughly 11 million households on fixed deals are unaffected, so a good fixed import tariff is worth comparing. See choosing an energy tariff as a solar owner.

What to watch next

The next signals will be an announcement of a preferred bidder, and then any notice to So Energy customers. If you receive a notice, read it for what it says about export payments in particular. We will update this page when terms are confirmed.