Phase-out of small-consumer net metering: a guide for businesses
Direct answer
Netting, in Dutch saldering, is the offsetting of solar power you feed back against the electricity you draw from the grid at another time, measured on your small-consumer meter. Over the netted part you pay no supply charges and no energy tax. The netting scheme for small consumers ends on 1 January 2027; until that date you may still net in full.
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Phase-out of small-consumer net metering: scattered information versus Energy Intelligence
Many small consumers with solar panels generate more power during the day than they use at that moment. That surplus goes to the grid and returns in the evening as consumption. Netting offsets those two flows against each other, so you only pay for the difference. This scheme made solar panels profitable quickly. At the end of 2024 the Dutch Senate passed the law ending the scheme from 2027. For households and small businesses, this changes the calculation behind own generation.
- Until 31 December 2026, households and small businesses with a small-consumer connection may fully offset their fed-back solar power against their consumption.
- From 1 January 2027 the scheme stops entirely; after that your supplier pays you a reasonable feed-in compensation for the power you feed back.
- Solar power you consume directly yourself remains the most valuable, also after 2027, because you pay no tax and no supply charges on it.
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How does netting work?
Your small-consumer meter records both the electricity you draw from the grid and the electricity you feed back. With netting, your supplier subtracts the fed-back kilowatt-hours from the drawn kilowatt-hours over the year. Over that netted part you pay no supply charges and no energy tax, as if you had never taken that electricity from the grid. If in summer you feed back as much as you draw in winter, those cancel out. If over the year you generate more than you use, you receive a feed-in compensation for that surplus. This scheme applies only to small-consumer connections.
- Netting applies to small-consumer connections: most households and small businesses.
- Fed-back and drawn electricity are offset against each other over the year.
- Over the netted part you pay no supply charges and no energy tax.
- For a surplus above your own consumption you receive a feed-in compensation.
What changes on 1 January 2027?
The netting scheme stops on 1 January 2027 in one go, and not in steps. The Dutch Senate passed the bill ending the netting scheme on 17 December 2024. Until 31 December 2026 you may still net in full. From 2027 you may no longer offset fed-back electricity against your consumption. You can keep feeding back and will receive a reasonable compensation per fed-back kilowatt-hour from your supplier. The Authority for Consumers and Markets supervises the level of that compensation. The reasoning is to make direct, own use of solar power more attractive and thereby relieve the grid.
- The scheme stops on 1 January 2027, at once and not in steps.
- Until 31 December 2026 full netting remains possible.
- After 2027 a feed-in compensation replaces offsetting against consumption.
- The ACM supervises a reasonable feed-in compensation.
What does this mean for small consumers and small businesses?
Without netting, the gap grows between power you generate and use directly, and power you feed back. Over self-consumed solar power you pay no tax and no supply charges, so it stays the most valuable. For fed-back power you receive a compensation that is usually lower than what you pay for consumption. This makes it more worthwhile to shift your use to the moments the sun shines, for example by scheduling appliances or charging during the day. Storage in a home battery and smart control also become more relevant, because you can then use generated power later in the day yourself instead of feeding it back cheaply.
- Consuming solar power directly yourself becomes the most attractive after 2027.
- The feed-in compensation is usually lower than the price of consumption.
- Shifting use to sunny hours raises your share of own consumption.
- A home battery and smart control become more relevant to use generation later yourself.
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