Solar after-installation guide · UK
Solar installed? Don’t assume you’ll get paid for exports straight away.
My panels and battery were working, and I had DNO approval and an MCS certificate. Yet weeks later I was still chasing the export MPAN needed to get paid. Here’s what caught me out — and how to avoid the same delays.
A real homeowner’s experience from Weybridge, Surrey · Updated 13 November 2026 · Export registration is still in progress.
The step I missed: UK Power Networks told me my installer still needed to upload final commissioning data via the approval-email link or Smart Connect. The MPAN team quoted 10 business days after that upload — not 10 days from the original approval or my first email.
First, the important distinction
DNO approval is not the same as an Export MPAN.
There are three separate parts to getting paid for exports, and I wish someone had explained this more clearly before installation:
Confirmation that the solar and battery equipment has been notified to or accepted by the local distribution network operator. Mine was a G99 application.
A separate 13-digit identifier for electricity exported to the grid. It is not the import MPAN already on your electricity bill.
Your supplier enrols the export MPAN and needs suitable meter readings before export payments can start.
For my installation, UK Power Networks confirmed an agreed export capacity of 10 kW. That did not mean the export MPAN existed or that Octopus had activated my export tariff.
Practical steps
The export MPAN checklist I would use today
Ask who is submitting the application.
Your installer and export supplier may each handle different parts. With Octopus, its published guidance says it requests the new export MPAN from the DNO after you apply for an export tariff and provide the required documents. Check that the application has actually been opened, not merely that your paperwork has been received.
Get the MCS certificate and DNO paperwork.
Keep the installation certificate, DNO notification/approval and any G98/G99 application number together. If you're in the UK Power Networks area, its published checklist also asks for the dated installer certificate, a sales invoice showing installation details, and photographs of control equipment and your meter / incoming fuse holder.
Find the 10-digit G98/G99 reference.
In my UKPN paperwork, the application number appears near the top of the DNO document. UKPN's MPAN Management Team asked me for a 10-digit G98/G99 approval reference starting with 88 or 85, plus the full installation address matching the import supply. This is not the same as the import MPAN.
Confirm the installer has uploaded final commissioning data.
This was the hold-up in my case. On 10 November UKPN said the installer must upload commissioning information using the link in its original approval email, or through Smart Connect. Ask your installer for the submission date and confirmation. DNO approval by itself is not proof that this step has been completed.
Check the export MPAN has been created, then enrolled.
Creation by the DNO and enrolment by your export supplier are different stages. Ask for the actual export MPAN and a realistic timeline rather than a vague "it's being processed".
Check the smart meter separately.
My Octopus contact said account technical details and meter communication needed attention before it could progress export setup. Ask whether they receive half-hourly readings, whether the meter is configured for export, who owns any fault, and what is holding up enrolment.
Keep a paper trail.
Save the acknowledgements, the G98/G99 number, dates and case references. Ask the supplier about tariff start dates and any possible backdating, but do not assume you will be paid for exports made before your tariff goes live.
Quick answers
Export MPAN questions I wish I’d asked sooner
What is an Export MPAN?
It is the separate 13-digit supply identifier used to register electricity you export to the grid. It is not the same as the import MPAN on your electricity bill, or your 10-digit UKPN G98/G99 application reference.
Who gets the Export MPAN — the installer, UKPN or Octopus?
The DNO creates the MPAN. Octopus says it normally requests it from the DNO after your export-tariff application and documents are received. Your installer may separately need to complete the DNO’s installation/commissioning submission. Ask all parties who owns each step.
How long does an Export MPAN take?
Octopus publishes a typical one-to-four-week DNO creation stage, then further enrolment and metering steps. In my individual case, UKPN quoted ten business days after the installer uploads commissioning documentation. Neither is a guarantee for another property.
Can I get paid before the export tariff is active?
Don’t assume so. Octopus says export payments require the export MPAN, enrolment and meter data. Ask your supplier about the actual tariff start date and any possibility of backdating before counting on the income.
Contacts I actually used
UK Power Networks: which email address?
The published route
newmpan@ukpowernetworks.co.uk
UKPN's public MPAN guidance lists this address for new export MPAN requests and says it aims to reply within 10 working days.
Where I was redirected after several calls
D0168MPANS@ukpowernetworks.co.uk
I was directed here after several phone calls. The team asked for the full address and 10-digit G98/G99 approval reference, and later confirmed the outstanding installer commissioning upload. I received a reply from Clare Wells on 10 November saying the export MPAN would be issued within 10 business days once commissioning documentation was uploaded.
These are two genuine contact points I encountered, not a guarantee that the second is the best starting point for everybody. UKPN's official website should be treated as the authoritative source if contact details or requirements change.
The reality, not the brochure
My timeline so far
The G99 paperwork for the Fox hybrid system records the UKPN application and 10 kW agreed export capacity.
We sent the MCS certificate and DNO paperwork to Octopus while trying to get the export tariff moving.
Octopus replied that the account and smart-meter communication needed attention before it could progress the export setup. After multiple telephone referrals, I reached UKPN's MPAN Management Team and received an automated acknowledgement.
The MPAN request had been acknowledged. I was still chasing the registration and asking Octopus to resolve its account and smart-meter communication issue in parallel.
UKPN’s MPAN Management Team said I should receive the export MPAN within ten business days once commissioning documentation was uploaded. I asked who needed to upload it.
UKPN clarified that the installer must upload final commissioning data through the approval-email link or Smart Connect. I forwarded the request to Danielle at EcoGlow.
Danielle replied, apologised for the delay and said she would get it sorted. That is reassuring, but it is not yet confirmation that the submission has been completed.
Still awaiting confirmation of the commissioning upload, the export MPAN and the Octopus tariff activation. I’ll add the actual completion dates rather than guessing.
What I'd ask my installer next time
Before signing, I would ask who applies for the export tariff, who requests or checks the export MPAN, what documents I should receive on handover, and who I call if the supplier and network operator each tell me it's the other's job.
Official sources
Check the current guidance
- UK Power Networks — apply for an Export MPAN
- Octopus Energy — how to get an Export MPAN
- Octopus Energy — Outgoing export tariff and meter requirements
- Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee
- UK Power Networks — Smart Connect (installer commissioning route referenced in my correspondence)
This is one homeowner's experience, not official UKPN or Octopus advice. Please check supplier and network requirements for your own address and installation. No company has paid for this page.