What changes and when?
Below you can see, per item, what the ACM has published and what has not been decided yet. This is a draft: there is currently no final decision.
| When | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 8 October 2026 | The ACM publishes a draft code decision for volume- and time-dependent tariffs for households and businesses with a small connection, up to and including 3x80 amperes (ACM news item, draft decision) | draft decision, not a final decision |
| After publication in the Staatscourant | Interested parties can respond to the draft decision for 6 weeks (ACM) | consultation (views) |
| Early 2027 | The ACM plans to take a final decision, so that the new tariffs can take effect on 1 January 2029 (ACM explanation) | intention, not decided yet |
| 1 January 2028 | The ACM wants to introduce time-dependent tariffs for large consumers on regional grids; a separate draft decision has been published for this (ACM news item) | intended, separate draft decision |
| End of 2028 | The ACM sets the tariffs that will apply from 2029 (ACM explanation) | planned, not yet set |
| 1 January 2029 | Intended start date of the new grid tariffs for small connections (ACM news item) | proposed, not decided yet |
The grid tariff is not the same as your supply price
Grid tariffs make up about a third of a household's electricity bill. The other parts of that bill are the amount for the electricity supplied and taxes. You pay the grid tariff through your energy supplier, which charges it on behalf of the grid operator.
Supply costs are separate from the grid tariffs, and the proposal is not about the supply price or taxes. That also applies if you have a dynamic energy contract: that is about what you pay for the electricity itself, not about the transport tariff. Read more in home battery and dynamic contract.
| Part | What it is | Does the proposal affect it? |
|---|---|---|
| Transport or grid tariff | Costs for using the electricity grid | Yes: about two thirds becomes volume- and time-dependent (proposal) |
| Supply price | What you pay your energy supplier for the electricity you use | No, separate from the grid tariffs |
| Taxes | A separate part of the electricity bill | No, not in this proposal |
What does the proposal look like?
Proposal: about a third of the grid tariff stays a fixed amount, about two thirds depends on how much electricity you use and when you use it. It concerns households and businesses with a small connection, up to and including 3x80 amperes.
There will be different time blocks with low, normal and high tariffs, and the blocks differ between summer and winter. Which hours fall in which block has not been set yet.
Aim: lower grid use during peak hours, so there is room for new connections and less grid reinforcement is needed (ACM). The proposed system is expected to reduce the peak load of households by about 10%. According to the calculation, about 700,000 extra homes could then be connected without the grid having to be expanded directly.
What does this mean for households? (indications, not a promise)
The ACM stresses that the effects differ greatly per home and household. These are the examples from the explanation:
Based on recent research, 53 to 64% of households are expected to pay less than under the old system, and the grid tariff is higher for 36 to 47%.
According to current calculations, an average apartment pays about €100 to €200 a year less. A household in a detached house with high electricity use and a lot of electrical equipment that adjusts its use as much as possible pays around €300 to €500 a year more.
If the new grid tariffs already applied this year, they would lie between 0 and 17 euro cents per kWh depending on the time, and on average about 8 to 10 euro cents per kWh for a more or less standard usage pattern.
These amounts are indicative and based on grid operators' costs in 2026. The tariffs that apply from 2029 will be set by the ACM at the end of 2028.
Worked example: what can shifting 500 kWh make?
Assumptions (example, not advice): you keep a fixed part of about €120 a year; the variable part is on average about 9 euro cents per kWh; you draw 2,500 kWh a year from the grid with an average usage pattern.
Step 1: the variable part is 2,500 kWh × € 0.09 = € 225. That is the same worked example as in the ACM explanation.
Step 2: together with the fixed part, you end up at an indicative € 120 + € 225 = € 345 a year for this part of the grid tariff.
Step 3: if you shift 500 kWh from an expensive to a cheap time block and that block is 10 euro cents per kWh cheaper, that saves 500 × € 0.10 = € 50 a year. This is our own assumption; for the variable part the ACM mentions a range of 0 to 17 euro cents.
Note: besides the grid tariff for transport, households also pay a grid tariff for the use of the connection and the meter, which is not included here. This is an indication, not a promise. Your actual time blocks and tariffs for 2029 may differ.
What can you do, and where does a home battery fit in?
According to the ACM, the main way to limit grid costs is to use less electricity from the grid. You can also save by using electricity outside the busiest hours where possible. The ACM mentions, among other things:
Charging an electric car during cheap hours, for example at night.
Heating a well-insulated home a little more before an expensive time block, so the heat pump has to work less during peak hours.
Using self-generated electricity directly at home with solar panels.
Running the dishwasher, dryer and washing machine outside peak hours.
A home battery: a battery can store electricity and use it later. Whether this is financially attractive depends on your situation, writes the ACM.
How much storage fits your use is explained in calculating home battery capacity.
Decision aid: when can a battery do something about this?
The table below is our own estimate based on how the proposal is designed. It is not a statement by the ACM. As long as the time blocks and tariffs have not been set, nobody can calculate the effect for your home.
| Situation | Can a battery reduce your grid tariff costs? |
|---|---|
| You have solar panels and use stored solar power in the evening | Possibly: you then draw less from the grid during busier evening hours. How much that saves depends on the final blocks and tariffs. |
| You can charge in cheap blocks and discharge in expensive blocks | Possibly, if the difference between the blocks is large enough. We will only know once the tariffs have been set. |
| You mainly steer the battery on market prices or imbalance | Not automatically. According to Netbeheer Nederland, home batteries can, depending on their purpose, worsen grid congestion. Read home battery and grid congestion. |
| You have little flexible consumption and no generation of your own | The effect may be more limited, because there is less to shift. |
This is a different rule from the end of net metering
The net metering scheme (salderingsregeling) ends from 1 January 2027. From then on you can no longer offset the electricity you generate against the electricity you use. This is a different rule from the grid tariff in this article: net metering is about what you get for electricity fed back, the grid tariff about what using the grid costs. They can reinforce each other, though. Read more in net metering ends in 2027.
Want to see what a home battery could mean for your use? Try the battery match, view the home batteries or ask for advice.
Sources
- ACM: proposal for time-dependent grid tariffs for households (news item 8 October 2026): draft decision 8-10-2026, new rules from 1 January 2029 for small consumers, on average a third fixed, time blocks, 6 weeks to respond, large consumers on regional grids from 1 January 2028, no change to supply price or taxes (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- ACM: Draft code decision volume- and time-dependent tariffs for small connections: draft decision and not a final decision, small connection up to and including 3x80 amperes, two thirds of the transport tariff volume- and time-dependent, 6 weeks for views from publication in the Staatscourant (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- ACM: Explanation of the draft code decision volume- and time-dependent tariffs: final decision planned for early 2027, so that the tariffs can start in 2029 (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- ACM: Explanation of volume- and time-dependent grid tariffs (PDF): grid tariff about a third of the bill, 53 to 64% pay less and 36 to 47% more, examples apartment and detached house, 0 to 17 euro cents per kWh, about 8 to 10 euro cents on average, fixed part about €120, tariffs set at the end of 2028, home battery as an option, peak about 10% lower (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- Netbeheer Nederland: Home batteries: depending on their purpose, home batteries can worsen grid congestion (accessed on 2026-10-18)
- Rijksoverheid: Net metering scheme ends in 2027: the net metering scheme ends from 1 January 2027 (accessed on 2026-10-18)
