Netherlands: End of Net Metering Could Leave 500,000 Social Tenants Worse Off

Energy Box
4 hours ago
2 min read

More than 500,000 social housing tenants risk higher electricity bills when the Netherlands’ net-metering scheme (salderingsregeling) ends on January 1, 2027, Dutch daily AD reports.

Over recent years, housing associations have fitted hundreds of thousands of dwellings with rooftop PV. Tenants typically pay about €3.50 per panel per month in service charges. Once netting is discontinued, households will no longer offset exported solar power against their own consumption while these fixed charges persist. Current estimates suggest around 85% of affected tenants could end up losing money—ranging from a few euros to tens of euros per month.

Efforts to plug the gap with home batteries have stumbled on cost. Roland van der Klauw, founder of Wocozon—which has installed panels on nearly 60,000 social homes—said a 5 kWh battery, including installation, meter-cabinet upgrades and inverter changes, runs €2,000–€2,500 and “would need to halve” to be broadly viable. Batteries could lift self-consumption from roughly 30% to 60%, but mainly when installed alongside PV from the start. Analysts estimate €541 million would be needed to prevent tenant losses.

Housing providers warn of budget pressures and tenant pushback. A Woonbond survey found one in three tenants now wants panels removed. In Arnhem, association Vivare has faced removal requests despite earlier approvals. “We used to proceed if 70% agreed, but we dropped that policy,” said Linda Hoekjan of Vivare, noting some arrays have already been taken down after tenants learned of the change.

Rising bills risk worsening energy poverty. Woonbond director Zen Winkels criticized the abrupt shift as “yet another broken promise affecting everyone’s basic security.”

What changes on 1 January 2027 (salderingsregeling wind-down: key points)

No more netting: Solar exports will no longer be offset 1:1 against consumption; billing moves to gross metering.
Feed-in compensation: Exported kWh will receive a supplier-set feed-in payment (terugleververgoeding), typically below the retail tariff and varying by contract.
Smart metering & settlement: Smart meters continue to register imports/exports separately; consumption is billed at the retail rate, exports credited at the agreed feed-in rate.
Fixed charges remain: Grid and service fees (e.g., panel service charges from landlords) continue to apply regardless of export volumes.
Self-consumption matters more: Without netting, value shifts toward using solar on-site (e.g., load shifting, batteries), though batteries remain cost-sensitive under current prices.

These changes, coupled with today’s cost structure for residential storage, explain why many social tenants could be out of pocket once net metering ends—unless additional support, tariff design, or lower-cost storage solutions emerge before 2027.