Short answer
Feed-in charges are an amount your energy supplier charges for handling the electricity you feed back. It can be a fixed amount per month or an amount that rises with how much you feed back. It is separate from the feed-in payment you receive. What it costs you is shown on your annual statement or in your contract terms.
Who this article is for Anyone who sees an item on their bill that was not there before.
What it is
Your supplier has to take the electricity you feed back, handle it and find a way to sell it on the market. At times when the whole of the Netherlands is feeding back at once, that electricity is worth little and sometimes even negatively priced. Suppliers pass on the cost of that as feed-in charges.
That is something different from the feed-in payment, the amount you get per kilowatt hour fed back. The payment is what you receive; the charges are what you pay. Both are on your bill.
How it is charged
| Form | How it works out |
|---|---|
| Fixed amount per month | Regardless of how much you feed back |
| Tiered scale based on feed-in | The more you feed back, the higher the amount |
| Amount per kilowatt hour fed back | Directly proportional to your surplus |
| Built into the standing charge | Not shown separately, but there |
That last one is the trickiest: it looks as if you pay nothing while it is in the monthly amount.
Where to find it
- on your annual statement, usually as a separate line
- in the rate card of your contract
- in your supplier's app or online account, under the rates
If you cannot find it, call your supplier and ask explicitly what you pay for feeding back. The answer should be an amount, not a story.
What you can do about it
Feed back less by using more yourself. Shifting consumption to the daytime helps straight away and costs nothing.
The first costs nothing and works from tomorrow.
Store it. What goes into the battery does not go into the grid and so does not count towards the feed-in charges. With a tiered scale it saves twice: you save the charges and you use the electricity yourself later.
Switch supplier. The differences between suppliers are large. Do work out the whole picture: a lower feed-in charge with a higher base rate gets you nowhere.
Why this matters for a battery
When asking whether a home battery pays off, it is not only what you save on buying electricity that counts. The feed-in charges you no longer pay count too. With a tiered scale, that can make the difference between a battery that struggles to pay for itself and one that does so quickly.
On the home battery page you can enter your own amounts and see what it does in your situation.
From my own work
A customer in Nuth had over € 15 a month in feed-in charges on his bill. He thought it was a mistake. It was correct: he feeds back a lot and was with a supplier using a tiered scale. That amount alone is almost € 200 a year, and it counts in the question of whether a battery pays off for him.
When to call an electrician
- You want to know what feed-in charges cost you and what a battery changes
- You are not sure whether switching supplier pays off
- You want to shift your consumption so that you feed back less
I go through the bill with you and work it out. See also the calculator on the home battery page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a supplier allowed to charge feed-in charges?
Yes, provided it is clearly stated in the rates. It is the supplier's choice and the differences between providers are large.
Do feed-in charges disappear if I have a battery?
They go down, because you feed back less. With a fixed amount per month the charge stays, with a tiered scale or an amount per kWh it goes down too.
Where do I find what I pay?
On your annual statement or in the rate card of your contract. If it is not shown separately, ask your supplier for the amount.
Further reading
A dynamic contract and a home battery: is it worth it
With a dynamic contract the battery can charge when electricity is cheap. That works, provided you let it be controlled automatically.
The net metering scheme is ending: what changes for my panels
Your panels keep generating just as much. What changes is the value of the electricity you feed back.
Solar panels and your consumer unit: what really needs to be done
What changes in the meter cupboard when panels go on your roof, when a PV distribution board is sensible and why your inverter cuts out on the very sunniest day.
Questions and comments
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