Feed-in Tariff UK 2026: What Changed and What It's Worth Now

If your solar panels went up before April 2019, you're probably still being paid under the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) rather than the newer Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). Ofgem estimates around 800,000 UK households remain on FIT contracts. From 1 April 2026, the way those payments rise each year quietly changed — a shift that shaves value off every FIT payment from here on, without touching the headline tariff itself. Here's what the Feed-in Tariff is, what changed in 2026, and what to do about it.

What the Feed-in Tariff actually is

The Feed-in Tariff paid solar owners in two separate parts: a generation tariff and an export tariff. The generation tariff paid a fixed rate for every kWh your panels produced, whether you used it or exported it. The export tariff paid an additional, lower rate for electricity sent back to the grid. Both rates were locked in at the point you joined the scheme and rise each year with inflation. The scheme closed to new applicants on 31 March 2019, replaced by the SEG, so nobody has been able to join FIT for over six years — but existing contracts keep running for their full term.

How long that term lasts depends on when you signed up: installations accredited before 1 August 2012 run for 25 years; installations accredited from 1 August 2012 onwards run for 20 years, according to Ofgem's FIT scheme guidance. That means the earliest post-2012 contracts start expiring from 2032, while pre-2012 contracts run into the 2030s and beyond.

The 2026 change: CPI replaces RPI

From 1 April 2026, annual FIT rate increases are linked to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI). Ofgem confirmed the switch on 23 March 2026 following a government consultation, alongside the 2026/27 tariff table. RPI has historically run higher than CPI — at the time of the consultation, RPI stood at 4.2% against CPI at 3.4%, per MoneySavingExpert's coverage of the change. The practical effect for FIT households is that payments will still rise every year, just by less than they would have under the old RPI link — a permanent, compounding reduction in the scheme's future value rather than a one-off cut.

For the 2026/27 year specifically, Ofgem applied a 3.4% uplift to FIT generation and export rates from 1 April 2026, in line with the new CPI-based methodology, per Ofgem's published 2026 tariff changes. Your exact rate depends on your technology, system size and the date your installation was accredited — check your annual FIT statement from your licensee (usually your electricity supplier) rather than relying on a generic figure, since rates were banded differently year by year while the scheme was open.

Deemed export: the other thing that quietly affects your payment

If you never had an export meter fitted — most early FIT installations didn't — your export payments are calculated on a deemed basis: your supplier simply assumes 50% of everything your panels generated was exported, and pays the export tariff on that assumed half, rather than metering it directly. If you've since added a home battery or an EV charger and are using far more of your own generation than 50%, deemed export payments are now paying you for exported electricity you're not actually sending to the grid — in your favour, for now.

Should you switch to the Smart Export Guarantee?

Switching is a one-way door. Getting a smart meter fitted so a supplier can read your actual export, and moving to an SEG tariff, means you permanently give up deemed export payments — you cannot go back to a deemed FIT rate afterwards. Whether that trade is worth it depends entirely on your numbers: SEG rates from some suppliers now beat FIT's fixed export rate for well-metered, high-export households, particularly if you export more than the 50% FIT assumed. But your FIT generation tariff — the bigger part of most people's FIT income — is untouched either way; only the export side is in play. Our Smart Export Guarantee rates guide covers current supplier-by-supplier SEG pricing if you're weighing this up.

Buying or selling a house with an existing FIT contract

Because FIT contracts closed to new applicants, an existing FIT agreement is a genuine asset attached to a property — it transfers to a new owner on sale, provided the paperwork (the FIT ID and the transfer form to the licensee) is handled correctly at completion. Missing this step can interrupt payments for months while a new owner re-registers. If you're buying or selling a home with panels already installed, our guides to buying a house with solar panels and solar panels when buying or selling a home cover the conveyancing steps in more detail.

What to actually do about it

For most FIT households, the CPI switch changes nothing you need to act on immediately — it's a slower rate of increase, not a cut to what you're currently owed. The two things worth checking now: confirm your FIT licensee has applied the correct 2026/27 rate on your next statement, and, if you've added a battery or EV charger since your original install, work out whether your real export share has drifted far enough from the deemed 50% that switching to a metered SEG tariff would now pay more — bearing in mind you can't switch back.