Net metering
Net metering — salderen in Dutch — offsets the electricity you export against the electricity you import at the same rate, and it ends on 1 January 2027.
What does the Dutch net metering scheme do?
It subtracts exported kilowatt-hours from imported ones and bills you only on the difference. A unit exported in June therefore carries the same value as a unit imported in December.
This is why solar arithmetic in the Netherlands has been unusually simple until now: the timing of generation did not matter, only the annual total.
When exactly does it end, and is there a transition?
It ends on 1 January 2027, in a single step, with no phase-out. An earlier proposal to taper the scheme from 2025 onwards was dropped in favour of ending it outright in 2027.
Until 31 December 2026 the scheme applies in full. Verified on rijksoverheid.nl on 31 August 2026.
Does the end of the scheme apply to existing systems?
Yes. Arrays installed years ago lose the benefit on the same date as arrays installed next month, and there is no grandfathering for earlier installations.
That removes the usual reason to hurry a purchase. Installing before 2027 secures net metering only for the remainder of 2026.
What replaces it?
A feed-in payment per exported kilowatt-hour, paid by your supplier and set in your contract. Until 2030 it must be at least 50 percent of the bare supply rate.
Separately, suppliers may charge feed-in costs for processing exported power, and those do not disappear in 2027. Both belong in any calculation that reaches past that date.
Common questions
I am an expat homeowner. Does this affect me differently?
No. The scheme and its end date apply to every household connection in the Netherlands regardless of the owner’s nationality or residence status.
Will the scheme be phased out gradually?
No. The gradual reduction once planned from 2025 was abandoned. The decision is a single full stop on 1 January 2027.
Are solar panels still worth installing without net metering?
That depends on how much of your generation you consume on site. Savings on self-consumed electricity remain the full retail rate and are unaffected by the change. What disappears is the high value previously attached to electricity you did not use yourself.
Should I rush to install before the deadline?
Installing earlier only captures net metering for the months remaining in 2026. From January 2027 an older array is treated identically to a new one, so the deadline is a weaker argument than it first appears.