Smart Meter Not Showing Solar Export? How to Diagnose and Fix It

Why this is confusing — and very common

When solar panels are installed, most homeowners expect their smart meter to automatically start showing what they're sending back to the grid. It rarely works that way.

There are actually three separate things that need to happen before export shows up correctly:

1. The meter must physically record export — measuring electricity flowing out through the meter in the reverse direction.
2. The meter must be commissioned for export — your supplier needs to configure it and assign an export MPAN.
3. An export tariff (SEG) must be registered — a supplier must be paid to receive those readings and pay you for them.

Each of these can fail independently. A meter can record export without anyone paying you for it. A meter can be commissioned for export by your supplier but display it in a way that's easy to miss. This guide works through each possible failure point so you can pinpoint exactly what's wrong.

First: understand what your IHD actually shows

Your IHD — the small wireless display that came with your smart meter — is almost certainly not broken. It is working exactly as designed. The problem is that most IHDs are configured to show import only.

The In-Home Display gets a simplified data feed from the meter. It's designed to help households understand their consumption. Export data is a later addition and most IHDs, particularly those paired with older SMETS1 meters, simply don't display it. Even some SMETS2 IHDs don't show export by default.

If you want to see export data in a visual way similar to your IHD, consider the Hildebrand Glow (also called Bright), which pulls half-hourly meter data via the DCC and displays both import and export. It works with most SMETS2 meters without needing your supplier's involvement.

How to read the export register on your meter

This is the most important first step. Before contacting anyone, check whether the meter is recording export at all.

Most smart meters have a button or set of buttons on the front panel that cycle through different registers. The screens you'll see depend on your meter model, but the process is the same across the major types.

Steps:

1. Locate the button on the face of the meter (often labelled "Display" or just an unlabelled button).
2. Press it repeatedly. Each press cycles to the next register.
3. You are looking for one of the following:
   • A screen labelled "Export" or "Total Export"
   • A screen labelled with register code "02" (import is usually "01")
   • A screen labelled "R2", "E2", or showing an arrow pointing outward (depending on your meter manufacturer)
4. Note the reading in kWh. Come back on a sunny day after midday and check it again. If it has gone up, your meter is recording export correctly.

If you cannot find any export register at all — even after cycling through every screen — your meter has either not been commissioned for export, or you have a SMETS1 meter that doesn't support export metering in its current mode.

Common reasons export isn't showing — and what to do

1. The meter has not been commissioned for export

This is the most common cause. When your installer connected your solar system, they should have notified your energy supplier so the supplier could update your meter configuration to include an export register and assign you an export MPAN.

Many suppliers don't do this automatically, even if your installer did notify them. The process requires the supplier to send a configuration command to the meter over the DCC network, which can take days or weeks.

What to do: Call your electricity supplier and tell them you have solar panels installed and need your smart meter configured for export metering. Have your installation date and MCS certificate number to hand. Ask specifically for:

• An export MPAN to be assigned to your property
• The meter's export register to be enabled
• Confirmation that half-hourly settlement data will be submitted

Note the date and reference number of your call. Some suppliers take several billing cycles to complete this — follow up if you haven't heard back within four weeks.

2. SMETS1 meter — and what makes it different

SMETS1 was the first generation of smart meters, installed in large numbers between roughly 2012 and 2019. They work differently to SMETS2 in one crucial way: they communicate with your supplier directly, not via the national DCC network.

This creates problems when you switch supplier. A SMETS1 meter commissioned for export by Supplier A will often lose its smart functionality — including export recording — if you switch to Supplier B. Supplier B has to recommission the meter from scratch, which may take months or may never happen at all.

SMETS1 meters also vary significantly in their export capability. Some models can record export. Others were never designed to do it, regardless of supplier configuration.

What to do:

• Ask your supplier whether your meter is SMETS1 or SMETS2 (they can tell you instantly).
• If it's SMETS1 and you've switched supplier since your solar was installed, ask specifically whether export metering was recommissioned after the switch.
• If your SMETS1 meter cannot support export metering, you can request a free replacement with a SMETS2 meter. Suppliers are obligated to offer this. It's worth requesting in writing.

3. SMETS2 meters — what they get right

SMETS2 meters communicate via the national DCC network rather than through your supplier directly. This means switching supplier doesn't break smart functionality — the meter continues recording data and the new supplier simply picks up access to those readings.

For export metering, SMETS2 meters are significantly more reliable. They have a dedicated export register (register "02") and in most configurations this is enabled by default when the meter is deployed at a property with solar. Half-hourly settlement data is available for export tariffs like Octopus Agile Outgoing.

However, SMETS2 meters can still fail to show export if:

• Your installer didn't notify your supplier of the installation.
• The supplier's systems haven't linked your solar installation to the export register.
• The meter was installed before your solar system, and no one has told the supplier to activate export recording.

In these cases, the fix is still a call to your supplier — but the process is more straightforward than with SMETS1.

4. CT clamp fitted the wrong way round

Some solar installations use a CT clamp (current transformer) to measure the flow of electricity at your consumer unit. If this clamp was fitted with the wrong orientation during installation, energy you're exporting appears as additional import in the meter's records — and vice versa.

Signs this might be happening:

• Your monitoring app shows you generating lots of power, but your electricity meter reading seems to be rising faster than expected, not slower.
• Your export register exists but never increments, even on bright sunny days when your system is clearly generating more than your household is using.

This is an installer error. Diagnosing and correcting it requires someone qualified to access the consumer unit and reverse the CT clamp orientation. Raise this with your installer under their workmanship warranty — it's a commissioning fault.

5. Half-hourly settlement not enabled

Some SEG tariffs — particularly time-of-use tariffs like Octopus Agile Outgoing — require your meter to submit half-hourly settlement data rather than just monthly totals. This is a separate configuration step from simply enabling the export register.

If you've been accepted onto one of these tariffs but payments seem wrong or your online account shows no export readings, check with your supplier that half-hourly settlement is active on your export MPAN.

6. No SEG contract — meter records but no one pays

Your meter can be recording export perfectly well, with an export register incrementing every sunny day — but if you haven't registered for a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff, no supplier is obligated to pay you for it.

The SEG is not automatic. Registering your solar installation with a supplier for export payments is a separate step from having your meter configured. The guide to claiming SEG payments covers the full registration process, but the short version is:

1. Choose a supplier offering SEG (does not have to be your import supplier).
2. Apply with your MCS certificate number, installation date, system size, and meter MPAN.
3. The supplier registers your export MPAN on their system and begins collecting readings.
4. Payments follow each billing cycle.

If you've been generating and exporting for months before registering, note that SEG payments are not backdated to your installation date — they start from registration. Register as soon as possible after installation.

How to find your export MPAN

Every metering point in the UK has a Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN). Your property has an import MPAN (for the electricity you consume) and, once commissioned for export, an export MPAN (for the electricity you send back to the grid).

The import MPAN appears on your electricity bill — it's a 21-digit number, often displayed with a leading "S" prefix or within a "meter point" box on the bill.

Your export MPAN is different and is not automatically printed on bills. To find it:

• Ask your supplier directly — once they've commissioned export on your meter, they can tell you the export MPAN over the phone or via account portal.
• Check your SEG registration confirmation — if you've already signed up for a SEG tariff, the confirmation letter or email should include the export MPAN.
• Ask your installer — some installers record the export MPAN during commissioning.

You'll need the export MPAN if you ever switch SEG supplier, because the new supplier needs it to take over the export readings.

Step-by-step diagnosis flow

Work through this in order:

Step 1 — Check the meter's export register directly. Press the button on your meter to cycle through registers. Find the export register. If it's incrementing on sunny days: the meter is working. If it doesn't exist or doesn't increment: move to Step 2.

Step 2 — Confirm whether your supplier has commissioned export. Call your supplier and ask: "Has my meter been commissioned for export metering, and do I have an export MPAN assigned?" If the answer is no: ask them to do it. If the answer is yes and the register still isn't incrementing: move to Step 3.

Step 3 — Check your meter type. Ask your supplier whether you have SMETS1 or SMETS2. If SMETS1: ask whether export was recommissioned after any supplier switch. If it wasn't, or if the meter can't support export, request a replacement SMETS2 meter.

Step 4 — Check your installer's notification. Confirm with your installer that they notified your supplier of the solar installation. This is required as part of the Grid Supply Point application process. If they didn't, the supplier may be unaware the property has generation capacity at all.

Step 5 — Check for CT clamp issues. If the export register exists, your supplier has commissioned it, but it still doesn't move on sunny days despite your monitoring showing healthy generation, consider whether a CT clamp orientation error might be misdirecting the readings. Contact your installer.

Step 6 — Register for SEG if you haven't already. Once the meter is recording export correctly, ensure you have an active SEG agreement so you actually get paid. See the SEG guide for supplier comparisons and current rates.

What to say when you call your supplier

Supplier phone agents aren't always familiar with solar export — you may need to be specific. Use language like this:

"I have a solar PV installation and I need my smart meter commissioned for export metering. I need an export MPAN assigned to my property and the export register enabled on the meter. I also need to confirm that half-hourly settlement data will be submitted so I can register for a SEG tariff."

If the agent doesn't know what an export MPAN is, ask to speak to the metering team or the connections department rather than the general billing line.

When to escalate beyond your supplier

If your supplier repeatedly fails to commission export metering, or insists there's nothing they can do, you have further options:

• Raise a formal complaint with your supplier. Once a complaint is logged, they have eight weeks to resolve it or issue a deadlock letter.
• Contact the Energy Ombudsman (ombudsman-services.org/energy) if you're not satisfied with the outcome after eight weeks. The Ombudsman can direct the supplier to take action.
• Contact Ofgem if there's a systemic issue. Suppliers are obligated under their licence conditions to provide metering that supports export for customers with eligible generation.

In practice, most export metering issues are resolved at the first or second supplier call — escalation is rarely needed, but it's worth knowing your options.

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