Net metering in the Netherlands: the latest updates
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→ The proposed law 'termination of the net metering mechanism'
The first electricity suppliers have announced what the feed-in tariffs will be for people with a fixed or variable contract after 2027. For Greenchoice customers, the compensation (the feed-in tariffs minus the feed-in costs) is only about 0.25 cents per kWh. Feeding back is therefore no longer interesting: it's better to put the surplus generated electricity in a home battery, a car battery or another device.
The abolition of the net metering mechanism as of 1 January 2027 is now final. You can still take full advantage of the current net metering mechanism for two more years. It's smart to take advantage of this: either by installing solar panels or by installing a home battery, of which you can earn back a large part of the purchase costs over the next two years by trading on the imbalance market. From January 2027 onwards, it will be especially important to increase your self-consumption. This means: adjusting the times when you use electricity to the times when the sun is shining. Zonnefabriek offers all kinds of smart solutions. Check the product pages for more information.
The law to terminate the net metering mechanism
In the proposal that is now on the table, a number of important details have been further elaborated compared to the first version. First of all, with regard to the negative feed-in tariff: according to the bill, the tariff for feed-in electricity may never be negative, i.e. you never have to pay to feed electricity into the grid. However, a caveat is added here: the tariff is ‘weighted on average over a period of one month’. In concrete terms, this means that if you have a dynamic energy contract, the feed-in tariff can actually be negative at certain times. This is important to know, because it means that you will want to pause your feed-in (briefly) at those times. Fortunately, this is usually easily doable with our solar panel systems!
The minimum reasonable compensation for feed-in electricity has also been clarified somewhat. This minimum may not be less than 50% of the agreed price for consumed electricity. Of course, we are talking about the basic electricity price here, i.e. excluding energy tax and VAT. This means that if you would pay around 30 cents per kWh, the minimum compensation for feed-in electricity would only be around 8 cents per kWh. That is quite a difference: that is why almost everyone with solar panels will definitely want a home battery system by then.
Of course, there might be energy suppliers who will give a higher compensation than the absolute minimum. In addition, it will also be possible to sell the feed-in electricity to a different company than the company you purchase electricity from.
Most signs seem to indicate that the Senate will agree to this law, but we do not know for sure yet. After all, the previous plan (for a gradual phase-out) had already been adopted by the House of Representatives, but was ultimately rejected by the Senate. We will of course keep a close eye on things and keep you informed: more news in the January newsletter!
The abolition of the net metering scheme means that the payback time for solar panels would in principle be longer than before. But at the same time, solar panels have never been so cheap, while the price of electricity from the grid has only been going up recently! Anyone who purchases an installation today will therefore have just as short a payback period as those pioneers who realised years ago how smart it is to invest in solar energy. Moreover, there are now plenty of options to limit the feed-in power if necessary. Every unshaded piece of roof can be used productively: call or email and we will be happy to see what is possible!
How does net metering currently work?
According to the net metering mechanism, your energy supplier is obliged to deduct the electricity you feed into the grid from the electricity you consumed over a one-year period. As a customer, you only pay the difference between the two via the annual statement. If you feed in more electricity than you consume in that period, then for that net surplus energy you'll receive a lower price than the normal purchase price (the energy supplier may determine this feed-in price themselves).
The net metering scheme only applies to small (residential) consumers. A small consumer has an electricity connection with a maximum current of 3 x 80 amps. Almost all households are small consumers: you probably have a connection of 3 x 25 Ampere or 1 x 40 Ampere at home. Some companies or apartment buildings also have a connection of a maximum of 3 x 80 amps and are therefore covered by the net metering mechanism.
Feed-in costs
Nowadays many energy suppliers charge costs for feed-in. This only happens if you have a fixed or variable contract. The amount of these feed-in costs and the way in which they are charged differ per energy supplier.
If you have a dynamic energy contract, no feed-in costs will be charged. In this case, the price of electricity (both purchased and supplied) varies from hour to hour.
What is going to change?
Most likely, the net metering mechanism will remain in place until January 1, 2027, after which it will be abolished all at once. From then on, the energy supplier will be able to determine how much money they want to pay for your feed-in electricity. It is possible that there will be a legally determined minimum price. The government calls this a 'reasonable compensation' and they have agreed that this should never be negative. This means that you will never have to pay to have your electricity fed into the grid. However, this compensation will be a lot lower than the purchase price, which makes it even more important to self-consume or store your self-generated electricity as much as possible.
A timeline of the net metering mechanism from 2004 to the present
The Senate approves the law to terminate the net metering mechanism as of January 2027.
The new coalition government composed of PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB announces that it wants to end the net metering system in one fell swoop as of January 1, 2027. There is no longer any talk of a gradual reduction.
On February 13, 2024 the Senate ('Eerste Kamer') votes against the bill. The gradual phase-out is now off the table and the net metering system is retained for the time being.
On February 7, 2023, the House of Representatives ('Tweede Kamer') finally agrees to the proposed phasing out of the netting scheme according to Minister Jetten's plan.
The new government minister for (among other things) energy, Jetten (D'66) proposes to postpone the start of the phase-out until 2025, but to maintain complete abolition in 2031.
After the fall of the Rutte III government, we are left with a caretaker government for a while. The House of Representatives decides to declare the phasing out of the net metering mechanism 'controversial', making further consideration impossible until a newly elected cabinet takes office.
There is a plan to gradually phase out the net metering system, starting in 2023. According to this plan, net metering must have disappeared completely by 2031.
Minister Wiebes (VVD) makes a proposal to replace net metering with a 'feed-in subsidy'. This plan fails to get accepted.
The fixed upper limit of 5000 kWh per year is abandoned. From now on you can feed in the same amount of energy as you consume and still make use of net metering
The maximum amount of electricity that may be 'net metered' annually increases to 5000 kWh. Customers receive a 'reasonable compensation' for any excess above this limit.
In 2004, net metering was officially made into law. Until then, there was often unofficial net metering, because the discs on the old meters would turn the other way when energy was fed in. The maximum amount of energy that could be offset annually was set at 3000 kWh.
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