Feed-in costs for solar panels: what you pay and how to lower them
If you have solar panels, most energy suppliers charge you feed-in costs on the electricity you deliver to the grid. It's usually a separate item on your energy bill, apart from what you pay for your own consumption.
As of 1 January 2027, the way suppliers calculate these costs will change, and with it what you can do about it. Below you'll read exactly what feed-in costs are, how they're calculated, what changes in 2027 and which steps you can take to bring the amount down.
What are feed-in costs?
Feed-in costs are costs your energy supplier charges on the electricity you feed back to the electricity grid with your solar panels. You pay them on the kilowatt-hours you feed back, so on the part of your generation that you don't use yourself at that moment. The more you feed back, the higher the amount, which makes storing your solar power in a home battery one of the few knobs you can turn yourself.
These costs are separate from the rate you pay for the electricity you use, and also separate from the compensation you receive for the electricity you feed back. In your contract and on your annual statement you'll usually find them under rates and costs. The amount varies greatly per supplier and per contract type, and the final amount is only set on the annual or final statement, based on your actual feed-in.
Why do energy suppliers charge feed-in costs?
Energy suppliers have to estimate in advance how much electricity their customers consume and feed back every fifteen minutes. Solar power is hard to predict, because it depends on the weather. If the estimate is off, the grid goes out of balance and the supplier pays for it.
On top of that, on sunny afternoons many households feed back electricity at the same time, which makes the electricity price low or even negative, forcing the supplier to sell that electricity at a loss.
These extra costs used to be spread across all customers. For a number of years now, suppliers have placed them with the group that causes them, namely households with solar panels. The regulator ACM investigated whether this is allowed and concluded that it is permitted, as long as the costs are reasonable and the supplier passes on no more than it actually incurs.
How are feed-in costs calculated?
Energy suppliers calculate feed-in costs in three ways: as an amount per kilowatt-hour fed back, as a fixed amount per tier, or built into your fixed delivery costs. Which method applies to you is stated in your contract. The differences between these methods determine how much influence you have on the final amount.
An amount per kWh fed back
With this method, you pay a fixed rate for every kilowatt-hour you feed back. Feed back half as much, and you pay half as much. It's the most predictable form, and from 2027 it will become the standard with virtually all suppliers. For households that feed back little, this method works out more favorably than a tier system, because you'll never end up in a higher category due to a single sunny month.
A fixed amount per tier
With a tier system, your supplier places you in a bracket based on how much electricity you're expected to feed back per year. Within such a bracket, you pay a fixed amount per day or per month, regardless of whether you're at the lower or upper end of that bracket. Some suppliers use dozens of brackets. Feed back just a little more than estimated, and you move up a bracket, with your costs rising all at once.
Hidden in your fixed supply costs
Not every supplier lists feed-in costs as a separate line on the bill. Some build them into other items, so you'll only spot them if you know what to look for. These are the names you'll come across in practice:
- Fixed feed-in costs: the most commonly used name, usually linked to a tier system.
- Feed-in contribution: the same costs, just named differently on the invoice.
- Sales fee: an amount deducted from your feed-in compensation.
- Feed-in surcharge or purchase costs: a surcharge per kilowatt-hour, often with dynamic contracts.
- Higher standing charge: a higher monthly amount for customers with solar panels, without a separate line appearing.
If there's no line for feed-in costs on your overview, that doesn't automatically mean you're not paying them. Compare your monthly amount with that of a similar contract without solar panels, and you'll usually see the difference reflected in the standing charge.
Feed-in costs or feed-in compensation: what's the difference?
You pay feed-in costs, and you receive a feed-in compensation. The compensation is the amount per kilowatt-hour that your supplier pays you for the electricity you feed back; the costs are what that same supplier charges you for it. The two are separate and can differ considerably.
That's why you should always look at what you net in the end. If the feed-in costs are higher than the compensation, you actually lose money on every kilowatt-hour you feed back. A high compensation in an ad means little as long as you don't know what costs come with it.
What changes on 1 January 2027?
On 1 January 2027, nearly every supplier switches from tiers to a price per kilowatt-hour fed back. The rates currently known for 2027 usually lie between four and seven cents per kilowatt-hour, with some outliers above that. That's considerably lower than the current amounts, which run up to nearly nineteen cents per kilowatt-hour.
There's a reason those costs are dropping: part of them was tied to the net metering scheme, which expires on that same date. But they don't disappear.
At the same time, from now on you'll receive a fee for everything you feed back, which until 1 January 2030 must by law be at least half of the bare supply rate, so the power price excluding energy tax and VAT. On balance, every kilowatt-hour fed back becomes worth less than it is now under net metering.
How much do you pay in feed-in costs per year?
Your feed-in costs are the number of kilowatt-hours fed back times your supplier's rate. A household with about ten solar panels feeds back roughly 2,500 kilowatt-hours per year. At a rate of five and a half cents, you end up at around 140 euros per year in feed-in costs.
The interesting part lies in the other side of that equation. If you use half of what you currently feed back yourself, that cost is also halved to around 70 euros, and on top of that comes the power you no longer have to buy from the grid in the evening.
Once you're charged per kilowatt-hour, the number of kilowatt-hours you feed back has the biggest impact on what you pay. So every measure below comes down to exactly that figure.
Lower your feed-in costs in four steps
You lower your feed-in costs by feeding back less, and you do that in four steps, from easy to drastic. Start at the top, because the first step costs you nothing and sometimes delivers the most.
Check your contract first
Check which rate you pay and whether your supplier works with a tiered system or a price per kilowatt-hour. With dynamic contracts it works differently: there's usually no separate line for feed-in costs, although some providers add a surcharge per kilowatt-hour. Once you know what you pay, you also know whether switching makes sense and what the other three steps will actually get you.
Shift your usage to the afternoon
Every kilowatt-hour you use at the moment your panels generate it is one you won't feed back. These are the appliances that are easiest to shift:
- Washing machine and dishwasher: run them between eleven and four o'clock instead of in the evening.
- Electric car: charge it at home during the day instead of at night.
- Water heater or heat pump water heater: let it heat up during the sunny hours.
- Dryer and oven: schedule the heaviest appliances for a sunny afternoon.
If you're out of the house during the day, you'll quickly hit the limit of this step. Timers and a smart plug can squeeze out a bit more, but your generation peak still falls at a time when nobody's home.
Store your solar power instead of feeding it back
A home battery stores your surplus during the day and gives it back to your household in the evening. That lowers the number of kilowatt hours you pay feed-in costs on, and in the evening you buy less electricity at the full rate. Let's be honest: storage doesn't make the feed-in costs disappear, because whatever you still feed back still counts. It reduces the basis on which you pay them.
How this works in practice, from charging and discharging to control via your meter cupboard, is explained in our article on how a home battery stores your own solar power. Are the panels already on your roof? Then take a look at a home battery for an existing solar installation, because you can connect it without replacing your current inverter.
Measure what you actually feed back to the grid
Without insight into what you feed back, you're working with assumptions, and that's exactly what your supplier does when setting up your contract. Your smart meter tracks consumption and feed-in separately, and through the P1 port, the connection on your smart meter where you plug in a readout device, you can read those figures live.
With a smart meter that reads out what you feed back, you can see exactly when your surplus occurs. Compare that with your annual statement after a year and you'll know whether your supplier's estimate was accurate.
Feed less back to the grid with TechPunt
If you really want to cut down on the number of kilowatt hours you feed back to the grid, it starts with storage and insight. At TechPunt you'll find home batteries, smart meters and accessories for a wide range of installations, from a complete set for your roof to a compact solution for just a few panels.
Not sure which system fits your meter cupboard and usage? Our customer service is happy to help you out by phone, email or WhatsApp.
