Solar panels in Ofgem’s Southern Scotland region: payback by town
In Ofgem’s Southern Scotland price cap region, the unit rate for single-rate electricity paid by Direct Debit is 26.11p per kWh for October to December 2026, 0.21p below the Great Britain average of 26.32p.
Panels in the 2 towns and cities we cover here generate an average of 855 kWh per kW a year, 11% less than the average of the 100 towns and cities in our data (960 kWh). Edinburgh gets the most sun of the places listed below (884 kWh per kW) and Glasgow the least (826 kWh). For a typical home that means payback of 7.1 years against 7.6 years.
Towns and cities in the Southern Scotland region
| Place | kWh per kW a year | System size | First-year savings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | 884 | 3.1 kW | £705 | 7.1 years |
| Glasgow | 826 | 3.3 kW | £705 | 7.6 years |
Each row is a home using Ofgem’s typical 2,700 kWh a year, with a system sized to cover it, at 26.11p per kWh. Installed cost is the government’s median for the system’s size band.
Sources
Unit rate: www.ofgem.gov.uk (checked 2026-11-10). Southern Scotland: electricity unit rate, single rate, Direct Debit, October to December 2026. Published as 26.11 pence per kWh.
Solar output: PVGIS 5.3 for each place; each place’s page links its own request. Methodology