PrepayPower pays 15.89c per kWh including VAT (14c excluding VAT) for surplus solar electricity exported to the grid under the Clean Export Guarantee. That puts it joint-bottom of the Irish market alongside Yuno Energy, its sister brand: both are operated by the same company, Yuno Limited, and both pay the same standard export rate. The bigger difference is how the money arrives. Because PrepayPower customers pay as they go rather than getting bills, export payments land as top-up credits on your PrepayPower account twice a year, in May and November, with an emailed statement each time.
- Rate: 15.89c per kWh including VAT (14c ex VAT); variable, subject to change with market prices
- Who qualifies: PrepayPower electricity customers with a registered microgeneration device and a completed NC6 form with ESB Networks
- How paid: Top-up credit to your PrepayPower account twice a year, in May and November, with an emailed statement
- Metered vs deemed: Smart meter homes are paid on actual exported units; other homes get a deemed (estimated) export figure calculated under a CRU formula
- If you leave: Any export payment still owed is sent to you by post
- Tax: The first €400 of export income per year is exempt from income tax, USC and PRSI
What PrepayPower Pays for Exported Solar
PrepayPower's current Clean Export Guarantee rate is 14c per exported unit (kWh) excluding VAT, which works out at 15.89c including VAT. The supplier notes the rate is subject to change based on market prices, so treat it as variable rather than fixed.
Your total payment is simple to calculate: multiply the rate by the number of units you exported in the payment period. The export quantity, whether metered or deemed, appears on the payment statement PrepayPower emails you with each credit.
One quirk worth knowing: PrepayPower and Yuno Energy quote the same 15.89c figure including VAT, and that is no coincidence. PrepayPower's legal name is Yuno Limited, the same stable that runs Yuno Energy. If you are comparing the two brands on export rate alone, there is nothing between them.
How PrepayPower's Rate Compares
At 15.89c including VAT, PrepayPower sits at the bottom of the Irish market alongside Yuno Energy. Most competing suppliers pay 18.5c or more.
| Supplier | CEG Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pinergy | 25c/kWh | Highest open standard rate, but Pinergy has announced it drops to 18.5c ex VAT from 1 August 2026 |
| SSE Airtricity / Electric Ireland | 19.5c/kWh | Level on the same standard rate |
| Bord Gáis Energy / Energia / Flogas | 18.5c/kWh | Three suppliers level on the same rate |
| PrepayPower / Yuno Energy | 15.89c/kWh | Joint-lowest standard rate tracked as of July 2026; both brands operated by Yuno Limited |
Rates as of July 2026 from supplier pages and published trackers. Rates are variable and can change with notice; check supplier websites before switching. Full comparison: CEG rates in Ireland.
In money terms, a typical 4 kWp system exporting around 1,500 kWh per year earns roughly €238 per year on PrepayPower's 15.89c rate. The same export at 19.5c with Electric Ireland or SSE Airtricity is about €293, and at 18.5c with Bord Gáis, Energia or Flogas it is about €278. The gap between PrepayPower and the mid-market is real but modest, roughly €40 to €55 a year for an average home, so the right decision usually comes down to the whole plan rather than the export rate alone.
Who Qualifies for PrepayPower's Export Payment
PrepayPower can only pay export credits to its own electricity customers. If your electricity comes from another supplier, you register for the Clean Export Guarantee with that supplier instead. To qualify with PrepayPower you need:
- An active PrepayPower electricity account
- A registered microgeneration device, which for most homes means rooftop solar PV
- A completed NC6 form with ESB Networks, normally submitted by your installer, so your exports can be recorded on the grid
The scheme itself is not PrepayPower's invention. The Clean Export Guarantee has applied across all Irish suppliers since 15 February 2022, and it obliges every supplier to offer an export payment. What each supplier chooses to pay is up to them, which is why rates vary as widely as they do.
Metered vs Deemed Export on a Prepay Meter
How PrepayPower measures your export depends on the meter in your home, the same as any other supplier:
- Metered export: if you have a smart meter, you are paid for every unit your meter actually records flowing out to the grid
- Deemed export: with other meter types, you are paid on an estimated export quantity, calculated by ESB Networks using a formula set by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU)
Your metered or deemed export quantity is shown on every payment statement PrepayPower sends, so you can check the maths behind each credit. If your home can take a smart meter, getting one installed is usually worthwhile: metered export pays you on real numbers, and a well-sized system typically exports more than the deemed formula assumes. ESB Networks aims to install a smart meter within four months of a valid NC6 registration.
How and When PrepayPower Pays You
This is where PrepayPower differs most from billed suppliers. There is no bill to credit, so export payments arrive as top-ups to your PrepayPower account, and they come twice a year, in May and November. Each payment covers the export period since the last one, and an emailed statement accompanies every credit showing the units and the rate applied.
Practical points for prepay solar owners:
- It is not real-time netting. Your exports do not offset your top-ups as you go. You top up as normal all year, and the export money lands in two lumps
- Keep your details current. Payments are applied to the account holder, so tell PrepayPower if the account holder's name, phone number or email changes
- Leaving PrepayPower? You still get what you are owed. Any outstanding export payment is sent to you by post after you switch away
- Questions: PrepayPower handles microgeneration queries on freephone 1800 911 842
Tax on PrepayPower Export Income
Microgeneration income is taxable in Ireland, but the first €400 per person per year is exempt from income tax, USC and PRSI under a Revenue disregard. On PrepayPower's 15.89c rate, a typical 3 to 5 kWp home system earns well under that threshold, so most PrepayPower solar owners owe nothing and have nothing to file for it. Income above €400 is declared on your annual return and taxed at your marginal rate. The full detail, including how the exemption works for jointly assessed couples, is in our guide to tax on solar export income.
How to Start Receiving Export Payments from PrepayPower
If you already have solar panels and a PrepayPower account, check whether your NC6 form was submitted; your installer normally does this at installation time. Once ESB Networks has your registration and export data starts flowing, PrepayPower includes you in the next May or November payment run. If you think you are exporting but no credit has arrived, ring PrepayPower and confirm your microgeneration registration is active.
If you are planning a new installation:
- Choose an SEAI-registered installer; they submit the NC6 form to ESB Networks as part of the job
- ESB Networks processes the form and arranges a smart meter where the home can take one
- Your exports are recorded, and PrepayPower credits your account in the next twice-yearly payment run
- Apply for the SEAI solar grant through your installer at the same time; it is separate from, and stacks with, export payments
We connect you with SEAI-registered solar installers in your area. They handle the NC6 form, the grant paperwork and the smart meter registration, so your export payments start as quickly as possible. Free, no obligation.
Get Free Solar Quotes →Frequently Asked Questions
PrepayPower pays 14c per kWh excluding VAT, which is 15.89c including VAT, for surplus electricity exported to the grid under the Clean Export Guarantee, as of July 2026. The rate is variable and PrepayPower states it can change based on market prices. It is the joint-lowest standard rate among the Irish suppliers we track, level with sister brand Yuno Energy.
Because PrepayPower customers top up rather than receive bills, export payments arrive as top-up credits to your PrepayPower account twice a year, in May and November, each accompanied by an emailed statement showing your exported units and the rate applied. Exports do not offset your top-ups in real time. If you leave PrepayPower, any payment still owed is sent to you by post.
Yes. You need to be a PrepayPower electricity customer with a registered microgeneration device and a completed NC6 form with ESB Networks. If your home has a smart meter you are paid on actual metered export; otherwise a deemed (estimated) export quantity is calculated by ESB Networks using a CRU formula. Refusing an offered smart meter can affect eligibility for deemed payments, so accept the installation if offered.
They are two brands of the same company. PrepayPower's legal name is Yuno Limited, trading as PrepayPower, and the group also runs Yuno Energy. Both brands pay the same 15.89c per kWh (including VAT) standard export rate, so on export income alone there is nothing between them; the difference is prepay versus billed electricity plans.
Not on export rate alone. At 15.89c including VAT, PrepayPower is beaten by Bord Gáis, Energia and Flogas (18.5c), Electric Ireland and SSE Airtricity (19.5c), and Pinergy (25c until 1 August 2026, then 18.5c ex VAT). For a typical home the gap is roughly €40 to €55 a year. If prepay budgeting suits you, that gap may be worth it; if maximising export income matters most, a higher-paying supplier wins. See the full CEG rate comparison.
The first €400 of microgeneration income per year is exempt from income tax, USC and PRSI under Revenue's disregard. A typical home system on PrepayPower's rate earns well below that, so most owners owe nothing. Income above €400 must be declared on your annual tax return. See our solar export income tax guide.
Sources: PrepayPower — Microgeneration Support (14c ex VAT / 15.89c inc VAT rate, twice-yearly May and November top-up payments, NC6 and eligibility, metered vs deemed export, payment by post after leaving, freephone number, Yuno Limited trading name); Pinergy — Clean Export Guarantee (25c ex VAT rate and announced change to 18.5c ex VAT from 1 August 2026, CRU deemed-export formula); SolarQuotes Ireland — CEG Rate Comparison (competitor standard rates); Revenue Tax and Duty Manual 07-01-44 (€400 exemption from income tax, USC and PRSI on microgeneration profits). Rates verified against live supplier pages on 18 July 2026.
Published: 18 July 2026. Author: Neil Russell.