The net metering scheme for solar panel owners is entering its final years. This is also important news for those who do not have solar panels. Explain what the net metering arrangement entails and what will change.

What is the netting arrangement?

The net metering chart applies to you if you generate solar power yourself, via solar panels. You can put the proceeds back into the power grid and settle them with your energy bill. You can even generate more energy than you receive from your power supply. Then you’ll get a feed-in fee—rates vary per energy company—for excess energy. There are no additional costs or taxes associated with this. This scheme was created to stimulate investment in solar panels.

Why does net metering list disappear?

But is such stimulus still necessary now that solar panels are a common sight on the streets? According to critics, consumers without solar panels are the victims of this net metering scheme. “People using solar panels supply electricity with a lot of electricity for the times when it’s not worth a lot. And take that back when it’s worth a lot. Suppliers lose out on that,” says Martin Visser, lecturer in energy transition at Hanzi University of Applied Sciences. NPO Radio 1. “These losses are divided among all customers, including those who do not have solar panels. This is how we have to pay.”

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This net metering arrangement encourages imbalances. A large number of consumers cannot afford to purchase solar panels themselves because they do not have a suitable home and/or lack financial resources. In addition, the power grid is sometimes under pressure because too much additional solar power is being brought to market. This was the case in the warm summer of 2022, for example. The large number of hours of sunshine resulted in a record amount of solar energy generated. Finally, there is a financial component. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate said more than €250 million in taxes was due to the net meter scheme. NOS.

When will the net metering list disappear?

That is why the government intends to start phasing out the net metering scheme in 2025. According to the first forecasts, the scheme will have completely disappeared in 2031. In the intervening years, the net metering scheme will continue to exist in a diluted form. In 2025 and 2026, you will probably still be able to make up for 64 percent of the energy supplied, provided you have solar panels yourself, of course. After that, the percentage of solar energy that you can use for stripping gets smaller and smaller. This will be 55 percent in 2027, after which it will pass through 46 (2028), 37 (2029), 28 (2030) to 0 percent in 2031.

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What happens when the net metering order disappears completely?

But these plans are not yet final. It remains to be seen if there will be another scheme in place of the net metering scheme. In December 2022 there should be more clarity on the bill from Minister Rob Gettin (Climate and Energy). And how attractive it will be to invest in solar panels after 2025 will only become clear by then. Energy prices Because they change every hour It is impossible to predict how high it will rise in a number of years.

But if you have solar panels yourself, of course it wouldn’t hurt to be more aware of your solar energy. Once the net metering chart recedes into the background, you can adjust your energy consumption according to the times when you actually generate electricity. Do you run the dishwasher when the sun is shining? Then you can use your own power for this.

(Source: Milieu Centraal, ACM ConsuWijzer, NPO Radio 1, NOS, Kemkens. Photo: Shutterstock)