Net metering ends in 2027: what does it mean for your home battery?

What is net metering again?

Net metering means your energy supplier offsets the electricity you feed back against the electricity you draw. The Dutch government gives an example: if you feed back 2,500 kWh in summer, you may use 2,500 kWh in winter without paying electricity costs, network costs and energy tax on it.

The scheme runs until 31 December 2026. There is no gradual phase-out: the cabinet has decided to end the scheme in one go in 2027.

What changes on 1 January 2027?

According to the ACM, the following changes from 1 January 2027 (ACM ConsuWijzer):

The fee: at least 50 percent until 2030

For all electricity you feed back, you receive a fee from your supplier. Until 2030 it must be at least 50 percent of the bare supply tariff, that is, of the electricity tariff without taxes. The ACM puts it as at least 50 percent of the price you pay for electricity without energy tax and VAT.

Feed-in costs remain

Suppliers may charge costs for processing electricity fed back, but only the costs they incur to process the electricity fed back. The ACM supervises these charges. Note: feed-in costs can sometimes be higher than the fee you receive. Read in how feed-in costs and the feed-in fee work what that means for your contract.

Your bill will be split

Your supplier must split your consumption and feed-in into the period up to and including 31 December 2026 and the period from 1 January 2027.

From 1 January 2027, your feed-in costs on the bill are also shown in euros per kWh fed back (Staatscourant 2026, 28208).

Does your contract run past the new year?

The statutory scheme ends on 1 January 2027, and your supplier cannot postpone that date. Do check your contract: it may be that under your contract you still have a right to net metering. If your supplier changes the terms of a contract that runs past 1 January 2027, it may only do so if your current terms clearly allow it. In that case you can switch at no cost.

Why using your own power matters more

After 2027, a kWh you feed back earns little, while a kWh you buy costs the full price. In 2026 the energy tax on electricity is € 0.09161 per kWh (up to 10,000 kWh). On top of that comes 21% VAT. Electricity you generate and use directly is not taxed and costs no fee to the supplier. Milieu Centraal calculates that self-generated electricity under a fixed or variable contract is often 3 to 4 times cheaper than purchased electricity.

Households with panels use on average about 30 percent of their solar power themselves. You can raise that share in several ways:

Run appliances when the sun shines. Washing machine, dishwasher and dryer during the day. In the Milieu Centraal worked example, self-consumption then goes from 30 to 35 percent.

Charge an electric car or a heat pump with a storage tank on solar power. According to the same examples, self-consumption then reaches 45 to 50 percent. Also read home battery with solar panels.

A home battery. It keeps part of your surplus for the evening.

Worked example: what does using 1 kWh yourself save in 2027?

Assumptions: you use 1 kWh of solar power yourself instead of feeding it back and buying it again later; 2026 tariffs; fixed or variable contract.

Step 1: you pay no energy tax on that kWh: € 0.09161, with 21% VAT about € 0.111.

Step 2: on top of that you save the supply tariff (including VAT) of your own contract: check your annual statement.

Step 3: what you would have received for feeding back, you do not get: with most suppliers net about half a cent per kWh.

Result: every kWh you use yourself saves at least about € 0.11 plus your supply tariff. If you use 500 kWh a year extra yourself, that is about € 55 a year on energy tax alone. This is an indication, not a promise; the 2027 tariffs will be announced later.

How many kWh do you need in the evening? Try the battery match.

What can a home battery do after 2027, and what not?

A home battery stores part of your surplus during the day, so you use it yourself in the evening instead of buying it. That raises your own consumption. A home battery that is only used to raise your own consumption of solar power is always grid-aware, according to Netbeheer Nederland: it does not make the peaks on the grid worse. How a home battery relates to the grid is covered in home battery and grid congestion. Separately from the end of net metering, the ACM proposes time-dependent grid tariffs from 1 January 2029 (draft, no decision yet); read time-based grid tariffs from 2029.

What a battery does not do:

Capture all your solar power. Ten panels produce about 15 kWh on an average June day, an average battery stores about 6 kWh.

Be guaranteed to pay for itself. Milieu Centraal writes that you most likely will not earn back a home battery at the moment through savings on your electricity bill, and that there is no national subsidy. Whether it works out for you depends on your evening consumption, your contract, the purchase price and how smartly the battery is controlled. How to calculate the payback time yourself is explained in calculating the payback time of a home battery; whether a battery is worth it for you after 2027, check is a home battery worth it.

So do not choose one that is too big. A battery should be able to cover your evening and night consumption. How to work that out is explained in calculating home battery capacity.

Fixed, variable or dynamic after 2027?

With a dynamic contract, your feed-in fee depends on the current electricity price, which can differ per quarter-hour or per hour. Your costs are therefore less predictable. A battery that can charge and discharge on price fits that. Read more in home battery and dynamic contract. Which contract fits your battery is covered in fixed or dynamic contract with a home battery.

Checklist before 1 January 2027

Read in your contract what it says about net metering and about feed-in fees and feed-in costs after 1 January 2027.

Compare what feeding back costs you: look at the fee and the feed-in costs per kWh.

Check when you use electricity. With a P1 meter in the meter cupboard you can see your evening and night consumption.

Considering a battery? Work with your own consumption and read what a home battery does and does not do. A home battery from 0.8 kW must be registered.