Net metering: how the net metering scheme works up to and including 2026
By Laurens Arends · updated 05-10-2026
How net metering works in 2026
Your solar panels can affect your energy bill in three ways. Electricity that you generate and use immediately in your home does not pass the electricity meter. So you pay no supply rate, energy tax or VAT on it. Only consumption from the grid and feed-in to the grid are recorded on the meter, and these are offset against each other with net metering.
That is why you cannot calculate net metering using only the total generation of your solar panels and the total electricity consumption from the grid. You also need to know how much solar electricity you use directly yourself. Milieu Centraal assumes about 30% direct own consumption for an average household. The rest goes to the grid first. You can increase this self-consumption by using energy smartly or by using a home battery.
Worked example: 3.500 kWh generation and 2.300 kWh consumption
In this example, the solar panels generate 3.500 kWh and the household uses 2.300 kWh in total. With 30% direct own consumption, 1.050 kWh goes straight from the roof to the appliances in the home.
| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Total generation of solar panels | 3.500 kWh | |
| Total electricity consumption of the home | 2.300 kWh | |
| Solar electricity used directly | 30% of 3.500 kWh | 1.050 kWh |
| Consumption from the grid | 2.300 minus 1.050 kWh | 1.250 kWh |
| Feed-in to the grid | 3.500 minus 1.050 kWh | 2.450 kWh |
| Net metering in 2026 | At most the grid consumption | 1.250 kWh |
| Surplus after net metering | 2.450 minus 1.250 kWh | 1.200 kWh |
So in this example in 2026, the supplier offsets 1.250 kWh of feed-in against 1.250 kWh of consumption. For the remaining surplus of 1.200 kWh, you receive the feed-in fee from your contract. Feed-in charges, however, are calculated on all 2.450 kWh fed back and not just on the surplus after net metering.
This scheme applies to households and other customers with a small connection. You must take and feed back the electricity via the same connection, and the solar panels must be registered via Energieleveren.nl. An ordinary household connection is according to ACM ConsuWijzer a small connection.
According to Milieu Centraal, electricity costs an average of € 0,27 per kWh in 2026. In this example, net metering 1.250 kWh therefore represents € 337,50 in avoided electricity costs. Of this, € 138,56 consists of energy tax including VAT. Net metering offsets the variable supply rate, the energy tax and the VAT, but does not change the fixed grid operator charges and fixed supply charges.
Consumption and feed-in are netted over the full billing period. That is usually one year. If your contract ends earlier, the settlement period runs until the final bill. The ACM has stipulated for the 2026 model contracts that the supplier adds up all registers and rate periods over that billing period before netting.
Net metering scheme 2027: what changes?
The net metering scheme is not being phased out gradually. In 2026 you may still net in full, and from 1 January 2027 not at all. The Wet beëindiging salderingsregeling was published in the Staatsblad on 29 January 2025. According to that law, net metering is no longer possible after 2027.
You then pay the full contract rate, the energy tax and the VAT on every kWh you take from the grid. For every kWh you feed back to the grid, you receive a separate feed-in fee. Solar electricity used directly stays outside the energy bill and remains free of energy tax and supplier charges.
From 1 January 2027 to 1 January 2030, the feed-in fee must be at least 50% of the agreed bare supply rate. That is the electricity rate without energy tax and VAT. According to the ACM, this minimum applies to fixed, variable and dynamic contracts. From 2030, the temporary 50% limit lapses, but the fee must remain reasonable and competitive.
A fee is not the same as the net return. In 2027, suppliers may also charge reasonable feed-in charges for costs that are genuinely related to feeding back. The feed-in fee itself may not be negative on average over a month, but separate feed-in charges can be higher than the fee. So always look at both the fee and the charges.
What does the end of net metering from 2027 cost?
The following table is not a forecast of the electricity price in 2027, but a simulation. We keep the 2026 price level fixed in order to show only the effect of the new rules. According to Milieu Centraal, the average electricity price in 2026 is € 0,27 per kWh. After deducting € 0,11085 energy tax including VAT, € 0,15915 including VAT remains. Without 21% VAT, the bare supply rate is approximately € 0,1315 and the statutory minimum fee is therefore about € 0,0658 per kWh fed back.
| Profile | Consumption from the grid | Feed-in | Value in 2026 with net metering | Value in 2027 at minimum fee | Decrease per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small roof, little feed-in | 1.600 kWh | 800 kWh | € 216 | € 53 | € 163 |
| Fixed calculation basis EnergieAanbieding.nl | 2.300 kWh | 1.500 kWh | € 405 | € 99 | € 306 |
| Large roof or higher electricity consumption | 4.000 kWh | 3.000 kWh | € 810 | € 197 | € 613 |
Source: own calculation by EnergieAanbieding.nl on 29 August 2026. The calculation uses € 0,27 per kWh taken, € 0,11085 energy tax including VAT and the statutory minimum fee of 50% of the bare supply rate according to the Rijksoverheid. Feed-in charges, fixed costs, discounts and future price changes have not been taken into account. In all three profiles, feed-in is lower than consumption, so that everything can be netted in 2026.
The table only shows the decrease in value of electricity that passes through the grid. The solar electricity you use directly yourself keeps its full avoided purchase value in 2027 as well. If your supplier offers more than the statutory minimum fee or if feed-in charges fall sharply, the difference becomes smaller. With high feed-in charges, the difference can become larger.
An earlier calculation by Milieu Centraal points in the same direction. According to the June 2026 calculation, the average annual return of six panels falls from € 440 with net metering to € 160 without net metering. For eight panels it is € 540 versus € 170, and for ten panels € 720 versus € 240. Milieu Centraal assumes, among other things, 30% direct own consumption and a net fee in which feed-in charges are included. Increasing your own consumption is the best way to absorb the decrease.
What can you do now?
You do not have to wait until 2027 and the end of the net metering scheme. You can already use more solar electricity directly now, calculate whether a home battery is worthwhile and check which conditions your energy contract applies from 2027. Do not just look at the feed-in fee, but also at the feed-in charges and the price you pay for electricity taken from the grid.
Use more solar electricity directly
Shift existing electricity consumption to hours when your solar panels are producing. Run the washing machine, dishwasher and dryer one after the other instead of at the same time, and charge an electric car during the day if possible. Milieu Centraal estimates that just shifting the consumption of household appliances can increase average own consumption by about 5 percentage points. According to the same source, smart charging of an electric car can add about 20 percentage points to that.
From 2027, the difference per kWh used directly is much larger. According to our calculation with the Milieu Centraal reference price, a kWh used yourself is worth € 0,27, while the statutory minimum fee in the example is approximately € 0,066. If, according to this calculation, you shift 500 kWh of existing consumption from the evening to sunny hours, the result improves by about € 102 per year before feed-in charges: 500 × (€ 0,27 minus € 0,066).
Buy a home battery
A home battery stores solar electricity during the day, so that you can use it in the evening, for example. In 2026, because of the net metering scheme, this usually saves you little extra on variable electricity costs: with an unchanged balance, consumption and feed-in are still offset against each other. You can, however, save on feed-in charges if you supply less electricity to the grid. How much that yields depends on your supplier's cost method.
From 2027, a home battery becomes financially more attractive, but not automatically profitable. Every kWh from the battery then prevents expensive consumption from the grid, while you miss out on the lower feed-in fee. According to our calculation at the 2026 price level, that difference before storage losses and feed-in charges is about € 0,204 per kWh shifted: € 0,27 purchase price minus approximately € 0,066 minimum fee.
If you actually use 800 kWh of stored solar electricity per year, the indicative benefit according to this calculation is about € 163. Charging losses reduce this amount, while avoided feed-in charges can increase it.
A home battery can, however, greatly increase your own consumption. In a Dutch practical test by Vereniging Eigen Huis, the share of directly used solar electricity for a representative household with a 5 kWh home battery rose from 35% to 68%. However, CE Delft studied only thirteen households and found payback periods of 6,5 to 22 years. In other words, not every installation is automatically financially attractive.
An average home battery can store about 6 kWh and, according to Milieu Centraal, costs several thousand euros. There is no national purchase subsidy. Moreover, the battery only shifts electricity over a few hours or days. According to Milieu Centraal, with ten solar panels you generate about 15 kWh on an average June day, compared with about 2,5 kWh on a December day. So in summer the home battery quickly fills up, and in winter it often gets too little solar electricity. It cannot store the summer surplus until winter.
So calculate whether or not buying a home battery is worthwhile in your case. Base the calculation on your own purchase and installation costs, usable capacity, charging losses, lifespan, number of charge cycles and any replacement of the inverter. Also include your actual consumption from the grid, feed-in and consumption during sunny hours.
Sometimes you can buy a home battery through your energy supplier. Check that this does not tie you too closely to one supplier. Such a link can limit your freedom to switch to a cheaper energy contract in 2027, when the net metering scheme ends.
Switching to a different energy contract at the end of the net metering scheme
Switching may be sensible in 2027, but the highest feed-in fee is not automatically the best choice. Compare the total annual amount with your consumption and feed-in. In doing so, check the supply rate, the feed-in fee, the feed-in charges per kWh or bracket, the standing charge, any welcome discount and the contract term. The ACM warns that energy prices for solar panel owners are harder to compare because suppliers process these components differently.
Does your contract continue past 1 January 2027? Then check now which rates and conditions apply before and after that date. The new model contracts must describe both periods separately. If your supplier changes the conditions of an ongoing contract, this must be clearly stated in the existing conditions and you must be able to switch free of charge. The supplier must also split consumption and feed-in between the period up to and including 31 December 2026 and the period from 1 January 2027.
Net metering and a dynamic energy contract
From 2027, consumption and feed-in will no longer be offset against each other. With a dynamic energy contract the price for feeding back changes per hour or quarter of an hour. Solar power often reaches the grid when many other solar panels are also producing and the market price is low. A dynamic contract is therefore not automatically the most advantageous choice for solar panels.
A dynamic contract becomes more attractive mainly if you can shift your electricity use and store electricity from solar panels. That can be done in a home battery, for example, but also in a storage tank or an electric car. The smart meter records how much you consume and feed back per price interval. An app, charging point or energy management system then still has to control the appliances. With little flexible consumption, you run the risk of feeding back at a low price during the day and buying at a higher price in the evening.
Frequently asked questions about net metering
What exactly is net metering?
Net metering is offsetting the electricity you feed back to the grid against the electricity you take from the grid via the same connection. If you consume 2.000 kWh and feed back 1.200 kWh, in 2026 you pay electricity costs on 800 kWh.
Until when can I use net metering?
You can use net metering up to and including 31 December 2026. The net metering scheme ends completely on 1 January 2027.
What happens to my solar panels after 2027?
Your solar panels keep generating electricity, and solar power you use directly keeps saving you the full purchase price. For all electricity you feed back from 1 January 2027, you receive a fee and feed-in charges may apply.
Is a home battery a smart choice now?
Sometimes, but the saving on solar power alone is usually not enough to earn back the investment. Milieu Centraal concluded in June 2026 that an average home battery is expensive, cannot bridge the seasonal difference and probably does not pay for itself sufficiently.
What is the difference between net metering and the feed-in fee?
With net metering, you offset electricity fed back against electricity consumed, and in 2026 you get the same value for that portion as your full purchase rate. The feed-in fee is the amount the supplier pays for electricity that cannot be net metered. From 2027, that fee applies to all electricity fed back, because the net metering scheme ends on 1 January 2027.
Is it still worth buying solar panels?
Yes, but the benefit is getting smaller and the payback period depends more heavily on direct self-consumption and your energy contract. According to Milieu Centraal, eight panels cost about € 3.200 in June 2026 and, after the end of net metering, yielded an average of € 170 per year in the model. Solar panels last 25 years on average and, according to this calculation, pay for themselves within their lifespan.