Power NI's Export Rate Rises to 11.88p: What It Means for NI Solar Owners

Power NI’s export rate for solar went up today. From 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027 it pays 11.88p per kWh for electricity you send to the grid, up from 9.64p for the year before. I checked both figures on Power NI’s microgeneration tariff page on 1 October 2026.

That is a rise of about 23 per cent. The Smart Export Guarantee does not apply in Northern Ireland, so NI suppliers set their own export rates, and Power NI resets its rate each October. Who pays what, how to sign up and how metering works are all in our full guide to solar export payments in NI. This page is just the change, and what it is worth.

What the new rate is worth in a year

I have used the same generation figures as our system sizes guide, which are based on PVGIS for a south-facing roof in Belfast: about 2,500 kWh a year for 3kW, 3,330 kWh for 4kW and 5,000 kWh for 6kW. The export shares match the site’s solar calculator, which assumes 45 per cent of output is used at home without a battery and 75 per cent with one. That leaves 55 per cent exported without a battery and 25 per cent with.

System	Battery	kWh exported a year	At 9.64p	At 11.88p	Difference
3kW	No	1,375	£132.55	£163.35	+£30.80
3kW	Yes	625	£60.25	£74.25	+£14.00
4kW	No	1,832	£176.56	£217.58	+£41.03
4kW	Yes	833	£80.25	£98.90	+£18.65
6kW	No	2,750	£265.10	£326.70	+£61.60
6kW	Yes	1,250	£120.50	£148.50	+£28.00

The calculation is kWh exported multiplied by the rate. For a 4kW system without a battery: 3,330 × 55% = 1,831.5 kWh, × 11.88p = £217.58.

Your own figure depends on your roof and on how much you use in daylight. Treat the table as the size of the change, not a promise.

Put in context, the rise is modest. On the same basis, a 4kW system without a battery is worth about £673 a year in total at the old rate (1,498.5 kWh used at home at 33.125p, plus the export) and about £714 at the new one. That is about 6 per cent more. Most of the value is still in the electricity you use yourself, because the 33.125p you avoid paying (the midpoint of Power NI’s 32.10p to 34.15p domestic unit rates including VAT from 1 July 2026) is nearly three times the export rate.

What it changes for batteries

A battery earns its money by keeping solar in the house instead of exporting it. So its value per unit is the import rate minus the export rate you give up. At 33.125p, that gap was 23.5p per kWh at the old export rate and is 21.2p at the new one.

On the calculator’s assumptions, a battery moves 30 per cent of a system’s output from export to home use. For a 4kW system that is 999 kWh a year, worth about £235 at the old rate and about £212 at the new one, so about £22 a year less. For 6kW it falls from about £352 to about £319. These figures leave out battery losses, which reduce them further.

That does not change whether a battery suits your household. It does stretch the payback a little, so check the payback figure in any battery quote was worked out at 11.88p. Our home battery guide has the full numbers.

What it changes for hot-water diverters

A diverter sends surplus solar to your immersion instead of exporting it, so every diverted unit gives up the export payment. The higher that payment, the less a diverter is worth.

In a home that heats water with the electric immersion, each diverted unit was worth about 22.5p net on Power NI’s 32.10p rate and is now worth about 20.2p. On 1,000 kWh diverted a year, that is roughly £225 down to £200.

In an oil-heated home the change matters more. We recalculated our oil heating guide for the new rate. At the Consumer Council’s 17 September 2026 oil price of £1,007.16 for 900 litres, with an 85 per cent efficient boiler, a diverted unit saves about 12.8p of oil. Take off 11.88p of lost export and the gain is about 0.9p per unit, down from about 3.1p at the old rate. With a good boiler, a diverter now only beats exporting when 900 litres costs more than about £935. Our diverter guide covers when one is still worth fitting.

What to do

If you export to Power NI, check your next export statement shows 11.88p. If your export tariff is with another supplier, ask them for their current rate, because each one sets its own.

If you are getting quotes now, ask each installer which export rate their savings figures use. A quote prepared before today may still use 9.64p. If you want to compare a few, you can request quotes from participating NI installers.

Export rates checked on Power NI’s microgeneration tariff page on 1 October 2026. Generation basis from our system sizes guide (PVGIS, European Commission). Import rate midpoint from Power NI domestic tariffs effective 1 July 2026. Oil price from the Consumer Council’s survey of 17 September 2026, as used in our oil heating guide.