ACM recommends clarifying the bill regarding the dismantling of the net metering scheme

At the request of the Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth (KGG), the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has conducted a Feasibility and Enforceability Assessment (UHT) of the bill regarding the dismantling of the net metering scheme. If the bill is adopted, consumers (and other small-scale users) with solar panels will, as of January 1, 2027, lose the ability to subtract the electricity they produce from the electricity they take from the grid at another point in time. Consumers that feed electricity back into the public grid will instead receive a compensation from their suppliers. ACM must see to it that consumers with solar panels receive a ‘reasonable feed-in compensation’ for the electricity they generate.

According to ACM, the bill will be feasible and enforceable if several elements are amended and clarified. In the UHT, ACM calls for attention to the social benefits of solar panels as well as to the fact that the current bill fails to provide certainty regarding the continuation of the feed-in costs that many suppliers currently charge consumers with solar panels.

In the UHT, ACM states that the bill lacks a definition of the term ‘reasonable feed-in compensation’. That is why ACM recommends explaining in the bill what a reasonable feed-in compensation is, so that this becomes clear to everyone. In order to be able to take firm action against unreasonably low feed-in compensations, ACM must be granted the power to impose a minimum feed-in compensation on suppliers. ACM additionally argues that, in the law, the ministry give certainty regarding multi-year contracts that have been taken before 2027 and which remain in place until after the dismantling of the net metering scheme in 2027. Households with such contracts must be given certainty about what the dismantling of the net metering scheme means for them. In that context, ACM also recommends including in the law the ability of consumers to cancel their contracts free of charge if their suppliers unilaterally change the conditions following the dismantling of the net metering scheme.

In an amendment to the Dutch Energy Act, the Dutch House of Representatives has included that the feed-in compensation that households receive can never be a negative amount. However, current practice reveals that energy suppliers are able to pass on the additional costs of solar panels in various ways. As a result, the costs that need to be paid for feeding electricity back into the grid are higher than the received feed-in compensation. If it is the Dutch legislature’s intention that households with solar panels, on balance, never need to pay for the power they generate, it is desirable to clarify this point in the bill regarding the dismantling of the net metering scheme.