Martin Lewis: Plans to change what households make from solar Feed-in Tariffs 'feels a breach of promise'

The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme was launched in 2010 to encourage households to generate electricity on a small scale. The scheme provides fixed cash payments to households for the electricity they generate and export to the grid. 

But the Government has this week announced proposals to change the way the scheme works from April 2026 – see more on these plans below.

Martin: 'This is retrospectively changing the payment rate people were given'

In response to the consultation, Martin wrote on Facebook:

How the renewable electricity export scheme currently works

If you have solar panels or a wind turbine, under the 'Feed-In Tariff' scheme (which closed to new applicants in March 2019) you can be paid for both the electricity you generate AND the electricity you export back to the National Grid. 

This is funded by the Government, but paid via your energy provider. It is tax-free income, and up until now, the rates were guaranteed for up to 25 years (depending on when you signed up) with payments increasing each year in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate of inflation.

If you had solar panels installed after March 2019, you won't be on the Feed-In Tariff scheme, though you can still get paid via the replacement Smart Export Guarantee scheme.

The Government's proposed to shake-up the scheme

Under the plans, the Feed-in Tariff rates for both generation and exporting would move away from annual increases linked to RPI inflation and would instead be linked to the typically lower Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation. The Government is considering two options:

• Option 1: Switching from RPI to CPI. Here, next year's increases to the Feed-in Tariff rates would simply use RPI instead of CPI – they'd continue to rise each year, but at a typically lower rate.
  

• Option 2: Effectively freezing rates for now, and then increasing them in line with CPI in future. This is complicated, but essentially the Government would take past FIT rates and then uprate them historically in line with CPI, instead of RPI each year. At the point that these increases reach current levels – likely mid-2030s – the Government will then index-link rates with CPI annually going forward.

The Government argues that RPI can overestimate inflation, meaning those taking part in the scheme have, and will continue at its current rate, to be overpaid. It also says that CPI is more widely used and will help to reduce the cost of the scheme – which is currently being recouped via levies on consumer electricity bills.

To have your say on the proposed changes, you can respond to the consultation online or email RO@energysecurity.gov.uk. The consultation closes at 5pm on 12 December 2025.