Dutch Homeowners Launch Legal Battle Over 2027 Net Metering Phase - Out

Approximately 137,000 owners of photovoltaic (PV) systems in the Netherlands have rallied behind Salderingsclaim.nl. They are taking legal action against the government, demanding compensation for potential financial losses resulting from the planned termination of the net metering scheme in 2027. The Dutch law firm DBE Advocaten is providing legal support for this case.

Oscar van Oorschot, a lawyer at DBE, told pv magazine that the government’s decision to scrap the net metering scheme would place citizens at a significant disadvantage. He described the government’s actions as either negligent or potentially illegal. Van Oorschot further emphasized that compensation is essential to mitigate the financial burden on households.

“Currently, a major firm is working on establishing a solid legal foundation. The key point is that we are confident enough in the case to potentially initiate legal proceedings,” he stated. “However, it’s important to note that mass claims in the Netherlands typically take an extremely long time, often up to five years. Therefore, we must be patient, and we don't anticipate the government reaching a settlement anytime soon.”

The law firm has criticized the government’s proposed compensation rate of €0.0025 ($0.0027) per kilowatt-hour, deeming it inadequate.

“Under many circumstances, especially during the summer, homeowners will be charged for excess power fed back into the grid due to grid overload. This means that they have to pay both when the sun is shining and when it’s not, as they need to purchase expensive electricity,” the law firm stated on its website. “Three million households are being negatively affected and are likely to face substantial costs. This is particularly true for households that have combined solar panels with hybrid heat pumps.”

In 2021, Energy Storage NL and Netbeheer Nederland, the Dutch association of electricity and gas network operators, put forward a proposal to phase out the net metering regime. Alongside this, they suggested implementing a rebate program for energy storage systems.

They argued that this strategy could make battery technologies commercially viable in the Dutch market by 2024. They also pointed out that the rapid expansion of solar capacity has put significant stress on the grid. Grid bottlenecks, especially in the low-voltage network, have emerged as a critical problem.