Eneco slashing rate paid for excess solar panel energy

Eneco is cutting the compensation for solar panel owners that feed electricity back into the power grid. From September 5, they’ll get 9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). The fee is currently linked to the electricity price and can run up to over 50 cents per kWh, NOS and AD report.

According to AD, the compensation cut means that solar panel owners with an expensive energy contract will get hundreds of euros less per year for their excess energy. About a quarter of the 1.8 million households with solar panels annually generate 900 kWh more than they need.

Eneco said that 9 cents per kWh is a competitive market price. The energy company used the regular electricity rate for the feed-in fee in the past years to stimulate the use of solar panels. But according to Eneco, this is no longer necessary because solar panels have become much more popular.

Eneco said on Twitter that it is reducing the rate because the value of the electricity supplied is lower than usual. That is because more households are feeding excess electricity into the power grid.

Consumentenbond told NOS that the feed-in rate varies widely per energy provider, from 5 to 56 cents per kWh. The consumers’ association wants Minister Rob Jetten for Climate and Energy to introduce a minimum rate.