How do I prepare for the end of the net metering scheme?
Direct answer
You prepare for the end of the Dutch net metering scheme (salderingsregeling) by increasing your own consumption of solar power, considering storage and comparing energy contracts critically. The scheme ends on 1 January 2027. From then on, exported electricity is no longer offset against your consumption; you receive a separate feed-in payment instead. Measurement is the foundation: first know when you generate and consume.
- Clear definition
- Data-driven assessment
- Risks and opportunities visible
- Practical next steps
How do I prepare for the end of the net metering scheme: scattered information versus Energy Intelligence
Many businesses with solar panels built their business case on net metering: export during the day, consume outside the sunny hours and offset the two at the end of the year. Think of an office that produces at full capacity in summer while the building is half empty. From 2027 the moment of consumption becomes decisive: electricity you export earns less than electricity you use directly yourself. If you get your generation and consumption figures in order now, you can later choose between smart control, storage and a different contract on solid grounds.
- The net metering scheme ends on 1 January 2027 and applies to small consumer connections, which includes small businesses; large consumers already cannot net meter.
- After 2027 your supplier must pay a reasonable feed-in payment for exported electricity; until 2030 this is legally at least half of the bare supply tariff.
- The biggest gain lies in raising self-consumption: shift flexible loads such as boilers, cooling and charging to the hours when your panels produce.
Insight
Traditional approach
Information is scattered across portals, documents, invoices or separate spreadsheets.
Modern approach
Data, context and interpretation are brought together into a clear decision picture.
Decision-making
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Choices are made based on averages, assumptions or occasional analyses.
Modern approach
Scenarios, KPIs and current measurement data make the trade-off more concrete and repeatable.
Follow-up
Traditional approach
Actions often stay non-committal or disappear into separate reports.
Modern approach
Follow-up actions, monitoring and reporting are linked to the same energy data.
What exactly changes in 2027?
The Dutch net metering scheme ends on 1 January 2027. From that date you may no longer offset exported electricity against your consumption. Instead, your supplier pays a reasonable feed-in payment for all electricity you export. Until 2030 this payment is legally at least half of the bare supply tariff, meaning the tariff excluding taxes. Some suppliers also charge feed-in fees. These may only cover the costs they actually incur to process your exported electricity; the Dutch regulator ACM supervises this. Important: net metering only applies to small consumer connections. Small businesses with such a connection are affected just as much as households. If your site has a large consumer connection, you already cannot net meter and little changes on this point.
- Exported and consumed electricity are settled separately from 2027 onwards.
- Your supplier pays a reasonable feed-in payment; until 2030 at least half of the bare supply tariff.
- Some suppliers charge feed-in fees; the ACM supervises whether these are reasonable.
- The change affects small consumer connections, including small businesses; large consumers already cannot net meter.
Which steps can you take now?
Start with your own consumption. Every kilowatt hour of solar power you use directly is one you do not need to buy or export. Shift flexible loads to the sunny hours: electric boilers, cooling, cold stores and the charging of vehicles or forklifts. Smart control, for example through an energy management system, automates this. Then consider storage. A battery captures midday surpluses for use in the evening; storing surpluses as heat, for example in a buffer tank, can also put them to good use. Finally, review your contract. Compare suppliers on feed-in payments and feed-in fees, and assess whether a dynamic contract suits your profile: it follows hourly prices and lets you steer consumption towards favourable hours.
- Raise self-consumption first: shift boilers, cooling and charging to the hours with solar production.
- Automate the control with an energy management system instead of switching manually.
- Consider storage in a battery or as heat to use midday surpluses later.
- Compare energy contracts on feed-in payments and feed-in fees before the scheme ends.
- Assess whether a dynamic contract suits your consumption profile.
Why is measurement the foundation?
Every sound preparation starts with insight into simultaneity: how much of your generation do you use yourself at the same moment? Quarter-hourly data from your smart meter or metering service makes this visible. Place generation and consumption side by side per quarter hour and you see directly where the surpluses occur and which loads can be shifted. Only with that picture can you meaningfully assess a battery, heat storage or a contract switch; without metering data every choice remains a guess. Look at a full year as a minimum, because summer and winter differ strongly. Then determine per measure what it does to your simultaneity and repeat the measurement after every change, so you can see whether the control works.
- Use quarter-hourly data to compare generation and consumption at the same moment.
- Review at least a full year; summer and winter differ strongly.
- Determine which loads can be shifted and how much simultaneity that delivers.
- Repeat the measurement after every measure to verify the effect.
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