With panels on the roof, the tariff that matters most is the one for what you still buy: evenings and winter nights.
The short answer
Power NI is the only Northern Ireland supplier that publishes a price for exported home solar: 11.88p per kWh from 1 October 2026, for MCS-accredited systems, whoever supplies your electricity. Budget Energy refers export to Power NI, SSE Airtricity publishes no NI export rate, and Click Energy and Share Energy buy exported power under individual agreements with no published rate. For most solar homes the bigger lever is a night rate: Power NI's Economy 7 charges 18.95p from 1am to 8am, against 34.15p at all hours on its one-rate tariff (as of November 2026).
Five suppliers, side by side
Most solar comparisons online are written for Great Britain, where every large supplier must offer an export tariff under the Smart Export Guarantee. Northern Ireland has no such rule, so the suppliers here differ far more in what they do for a home with panels. We checked each one's own pages and price lists for the three things that change a solar home's bill: payment for what you export, a cheap night rate, and whether they sell solar themselves.
- Power NI
- Pays for exported solarYes: 11.88p per kWh, 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. Solar PV must be MCS accredited. You need not buy your electricity from Power NI.
- Night-rate tariff, 1am to 8amEconomy 7 at 18.95p a unit at night; EV Nightshift at 18.92p for electric car owners.
- Sells solarYes, installed by its partner Refresh NI.
- SSE Airtricity
- Pays for exported solarNo Northern Ireland export rate published.
- Night-rate tariff, 1am to 8amEconomy 7 at 20.3p, or 18.47p on its one-year Direct Debit price.
- Sells solarWe found no home solar offer for Northern Ireland.
- Budget Energy
- Pays for exported solarNo. Its solar page says the export scheme is run by Power NI.
- Night-rate tariff, 1am to 8amEconomy 7, night from 1am to 8am under its tariff terms. Check its current price.
- Sells solarYes, through partner installers.
- Click Energy
- Pays for exported solarThrough an individual power purchase agreement. No published rate; the page is aimed at wind, farm and commercial generators.
- Night-rate tariff, 1am to 8amAsk Click Energy.
- Sells solarNo.
- Share Energy
- Pays for exported solarThrough a power purchase agreement. Solar is listed; no published rate.
- Night-rate tariff, 1am to 8amAsk Share Energy.
- Sells solarNo.
| Supplier | Pays for exported solar | Night-rate tariff, 1am to 8am | Sells solar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power NI | Yes: 11.88p per kWh, 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. Solar PV must be MCS accredited. You need not buy your electricity from Power NI. | Economy 7 at 18.95p a unit at night; EV Nightshift at 18.92p for electric car owners. | Yes, installed by its partner Refresh NI. |
| SSE Airtricity | No Northern Ireland export rate published. | Economy 7 at 20.3p, or 18.47p on its one-year Direct Debit price. | We found no home solar offer for Northern Ireland. |
| Budget Energy | No. Its solar page says the export scheme is run by Power NI. | Economy 7, night from 1am to 8am under its tariff terms. Check its current price. | Yes, through partner installers. |
| Click Energy | Through an individual power purchase agreement. No published rate; the page is aimed at wind, farm and commercial generators. | Ask Click Energy. | No. |
| Share Energy | Through a power purchase agreement. Solar is listed; no published rate. | Ask Share Energy. | No. |
Electric Ireland is no longer an option for homes: it left the Northern Ireland domestic market on 8 September 2025, and the households still with it moved to Power NI.
Power NI and solar, point by point
Power NI supplies about six homes in ten in Northern Ireland, and it is the supplier most solar owners deal with, whoever they buy from. Here is what it offers a home with panels.
Export payments
Power NI pays 11.88p for each unit you export, a fixed price the Utility Regulator approves every year; the current one runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. Its export contract requires a solar PV system to be accredited under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), and you need a G98 or G99 connection with NIE Networks. You can buy your electricity from another supplier and still sell your surplus to Power NI.
Solar and battery installs
Yes, Power NI sells solar. Its partner Refresh NI carries out the survey, installation and maintenance, every system comes with a hybrid inverter so a battery can be added later, and a battery costs extra on its standard offer. It also offers a battery on its own for homes that already have panels. Power NI publishes no prices; you ask for a quote.
Eco Energy and REGO certificates
Power NI's Eco Energy tariff supplies electricity from 100% renewable sources, backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs): certificates Ofgem issues for each unit a renewable generator produces. Power NI buys that power through agreements with wind, solar, biomass and hydro generators in Northern Ireland. Across all its customers, its fuel mix for 2024 was 41.7% renewable. A green tariff changes where your supplier's power is bought, not your bill or your panels' output.
Night rates for batteries and cars
Power NI has two tariffs with a cheap night band, 1am to 8am: Economy 7 (18.95p at night, 39.65p by day) and EV Nightshift for electric car owners (18.92p and 39.57p). Both carry a standing charge of 14.42p a day. Its one-rate Home Energy tariff is 34.15p at all hours, with no standing charge.
Night rates: the lever most solar guides skip
Panels change when you buy electricity. In summer they cover most of the day, so what you still buy is mostly evenings and nights. In December a 4 kWp roof makes a few units around noon and nothing at all after four. The units you can never get from your own roof are the ones between 1am and 8am, and that is the band a two-rate meter sells cheaply.
The catch is the day rate. Economy 7 charges 39.65p for day units, more than the 34.15p one-rate price, and adds a standing charge of about £53 a year. So it pays only once enough of what you buy falls in the night band: for a home buying 3,200 kWh a year, about 35%. A home with no battery and no electric car rarely gets there. A battery that fills overnight in winter, or a car that charges overnight, moves a lot of units into the cheap band at once.
One day on a two-rate meter
Power NI’s Economy 7 prices against its one-rate tariff, with the hours a south-facing roof in County Antrim produces in June and in December. Winter clock time; in summer the night band reads 2am to 9am.
What a unit costs
Pence per kWh, including VAT
18.95pnight
39.65p day, Economy 7
34.15p all day, one-rate
What the roof makes
Shape of a typical day, not to scale between panels
June
December
When the kit draws power
- Battery fills, winterBattery runs the evening
- EV chargesPanels cover the day
- ABattery fills, winter, 1am to 8am
- BBattery runs the evening, 4pm to 11pm
- CEV charges, 1am to 8am
- DPanels cover the day, 9am to 4pm
- 4am
- 8am
- noon
- 4pm
- 8pm
On Power NI’s Economy 7, a unit costs 18.95p from 1am to 8am and 39.65p the rest of the day; its one-rate tariff is 34.15p at all hours. Solar panels make nothing in the night band in any season, so a battery can fill on the cheap night units in winter and run the house through the evening, and an electric car can charge in the same hours.
Would a night rate pay for your home?
Set what you buy now and how much of it falls between 1am and 8am, then add a battery or a car. The tool compares a year on Power NI's one-rate tariff with Economy 7, and with EV Nightshift if you add a car.
On your bill as kWh or units. With solar, count only what you still buy.
Fridge, freezer and standby run all night; a timed dishwasher or immersion adds more.
Stay on one rate. Economy 7 would cost about £162 a year more.
You’d buy 10% of your units at night. At 3,200 kWh a year, Economy 7 pays once that passes 35%.
- Home Energy, one rate£1,093
34.15p all day, no standing charge
- Economy 7£1,255
18.95p night, 39.65p day, 14.42p a day
A year of Power NI’s standard prices including VAT, as published in November 2026. Direct Debit and online billing take a few percent off every tariff. Panels and export payments are left out: this compares only what you buy.
Your bill shows how many units you buy. If you already have a two-rate meter, it shows the night units too; otherwise start from 10%, which covers a fridge, freezer and standby overnight. Moving to Economy 7 can mean a new meter, so ask the supplier what is needed and whether it costs anything before you switch.
Matching the tariff to your kit
The right tariff follows what you have on the wall and in the drive, not the panels alone.
Solar panels only
Stay on a one-rate tariff and shop on its unit price. With no battery, almost nothing you buy moves into the night band, so Economy 7's higher day rate costs more than its night rate saves. Use the panels' output in the day: timers on the dishwasher and washing machine, and an immersion diverter for hot water.
Solar panels and a battery
From March to October the panels fill the battery and it runs your evenings. From November to February they can't, and a battery set to fill on night units at 18.95p, then empty through the evening instead of buying at 39.65p, earns its keep on Economy 7. Most home batteries can be set to charge from the grid in a chosen time window; ask your installer to set it up.
Solar panels, a battery and an electric car
A car charged overnight puts thousands of units a year into the night band, so a night rate almost always wins. Power NI's EV Nightshift is priced almost exactly like its Economy 7 (18.92p at night). A solar-aware charger can also put surplus daytime generation into the car.
If your system isn't MCS certified
Power NI's export price needs MCS accreditation for solar PV. As of November 2026, B9 Renewables is not yet MCS certified and our application is in progress, so systems we install today do not qualify for Power NI export payments. We work out savings with no export payment at all, which makes the night-rate question above more important, not less.
Click Energy and Share Energy both buy exported electricity under their own power purchase agreements, and neither page mentions MCS. Neither publishes a rate, and Click's page is written for wind, farm and commercial generators. If you want to be paid for export, ask each one in writing for its rate, any meter it needs, the contract length and the notice period. Whoever buys your export, the system still needs its G98 or G99 connection with NIE Networks.
Questions people ask
Does Power NI install solar panels and batteries?
Yes. Power NI sells solar panels, solar with a battery, and batteries for homes that already have panels. The survey, installation and maintenance are carried out by its partner Refresh NI. Every system has a hybrid inverter, a battery costs extra on its standard offer, and prices are by quote.
Can I get Power NI's export payment if another supplier sells me electricity?
Yes. Power NI says you don't need to be its electricity customer to sell it your surplus. It pays 11.88p per kWh from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, and a solar PV system must be MCS accredited.
What certificates back Power NI's renewable electricity?
Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs), which Ofgem issues for each unit a renewable generator produces. Power NI's Eco Energy tariff is 100% REGO-backed, from agreements with wind, solar, biomass and hydro generators in Northern Ireland.
Is Economy 7 worth it with solar panels in Northern Ireland?
Only if enough of what you buy falls between 1am and 8am. On Power NI's prices, a home buying 3,200 kWh a year needs about 35% of it at night. With panels alone that is rare. With a battery filled overnight in winter or an electric car charged overnight, it usually pays.
Which supplier pays most for exported solar in Northern Ireland?
Power NI is the only one with a published price: 11.88p per kWh until 30 September 2027. Click Energy and Share Energy agree a rate per customer. Budget Energy refers export to Power NI, and SSE Airtricity publishes no Northern Ireland export rate.
Sources
Prices checked against each supplier's own price list on 6 November 2026. All include 5% VAT.
- Power NI: unit rates and standing charges
- Power NI: solar panels and batteries for your home
- Power NI: microgeneration tariff rates
- SSE Airtricity: Northern Ireland domestic credit electricity tariffs, from 1 August 2026 (PDF)
- Budget Energy: solar panels and microgeneration
- Budget Energy: Bill Pay Economy 7 tariff terms (PDF)
- Click Energy: sell your renewables
- Share Energy: renewables
- Irish News: Electric Ireland exits the Northern Ireland domestic market on 8 September
- Irish News: Northern Ireland electricity suppliers by customer numbers, from Utility Regulator data
- Power NI: Eco Energy
- Power NI: what is fuel mix?
- Power NI: what is a standing charge?
- Power NI: renewable account registration and export contract terms
- NIE Networks: G98/NI installations