Selling the surplus from self-consumption: the 2026 tariff
The price EDF Obligation d’Achat pays for the power your panels export, depending on the date of your grid-connection request, and what it actually earns you.
For a complete grid-connection request filed since 5 June 2026, surplus power from a 0 to 100 kWp solar system on a building is bought at 1.1 euro cents per kWh, or €11 per MWh. The rate is set by the order of 1 June 2026, which amends the 2021 tariff order known as S21. It rises by 2 % on each anniversary of the contract, which runs for 20 years, and pays for no more than 1,600 full-power operating hours a year. Requests filed between 28 March 2025 and 4 June 2026 keep the previous rate of 4 c€/kWh. In practice, a 3 kWp system in Paris exporting 1,790 kWh a year earns €20 in year one and €478 over twenty years; at the old rate it would have been €1,432. Selling surplus has become a top-up: most of the gain now comes from power you use yourself.
How much does selling your surplus earn?
Income in year 1
€20
| Over 20 years (indexed 2%/yr) | €481 |
| Cap on paid energy | 4,800 kWh |
| With the old tariff (4 c€) + premium | €1,680 |
Tariff of 1.1 c€/kWh for complete grid-connection requests filed since 5 June 2026.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Three regimes depending on your request date
The tariff depends on when the complete grid-connection request was filed with Enedis, not on the commissioning date. For a house (9 kWp or less):
- before 28 March 2025: the quarterly tariffs of the 2021 S21 order, higher, plus an investment premium;
- 28 March 2025 to 4 June 2026: 4 c€/kWh for surplus and €0.08/Wp premium (order of 26 March 2025);
- since 5 June 2026: 1.1 c€/kWh, no premium (order of 1 June 2026).
The contract runs for 20 years provided the system is completed within 24 months of the request. The first-year rate then applies with the yearly indexation set by the order.
| Contract year | Tariff (c€/kWh) | Per 1,000 kWh sold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.1 | €11.00 |
| 2 | 1.12 | €11.22 |
| 5 | 1.19 | €11.91 |
| 10 | 1.31 | €13.15 |
| 15 | 1.45 | €14.51 |
| 20 | 1.6 | €16.02 |
What selling your surplus really earns
Example: 3 kWp in Paris, roof at 30° due south, household using 4,500 kWh a year without electric heating. The system produces 3,395 kWh, the household uses 1,605 kWh as they are produced and 1,790 kWh go to the grid. They earn €20 in year one. Used at home, the same kWh would have saved €358 of purchases on the Tarif Bleu.
There is also a standing-charge surcharge for producers who export, €9.84 a year before VAT in the Tarif Bleu grid of 1 August 2026. For a small system it eats much of the export income, which is why the calculator also offers a “surplus not sold” option.
How many years until your panels pay for themselves?
Pays for itself in
18.0 years
| Output per year | 3,395 kWh |
| Gain in year 1 | €329 |
| Installed price (estimate) | €6,000 |
| Net over 20 years | +€665 |
Département median, roof at 30° due south, surplus sold at 1.1 c€/kWh.
Why the tariff was cut almost fourfold
In its opinion of 29 April 2026, the energy regulator (CRE) noted that small installations were being built far faster than the targets set, and that the draft order aimed to slow this growth and steer it towards self-consumption. The €11/MWh level was chosen so that support would be roughly neutral for public finances. The regulator also noted that a time-of-day tariff, desirable in the long run, could not be applied quickly because small producers’ meters are not read as load curves.
For you the practical rule is simple: size the system on what you will use during the day and treat exports as a bonus. The self-consumption page shows how to raise the share you use on site.