Essent will introduce feed-in costs for customers with solar panels from 1 July

Essent will charge feed-in costs from 1 July to customers with solar panels that supply more electricity than they consume. The company uses scales per 250kWh for this. Essent wants to distribute the costs associated with the return of electricity fairly.

Essent has published a table listing the scales. This table shows that customers with solar panels who annually supply between 251 and 500 kWh of electricity back to the grid will have to pay an extra 4.07 euros per month from 1 July 2024. The more that is returned, the higher this amount increases. For example, customers who supply between 1001 and 1250 kWh of electricity annually must pay an extra 12.18 euros per month. Customers who supply between 1751 and 2000 kWh annually must pay an additional 20.32 euros every month. These amounts include VAT.

The feed-in costs apply to all electricity that is generated and not directly consumed by the customer. Customers who, after netting, supply more electricity than they have consumed will receive a feed-in compensation from Essent of 0.055 euros per kWh.

Essent believes that with this measure it can distribute the costs associated with supplying electricity back to the grid more fairly. These costs were initially included in the electricity rate of all customers, including those who did not have solar panels. Thanks to this measure, customers without solar panels should pay less for electricity from July 1, 2024, Essent claims. The company will inform its customers of the change by letter or email.

Essent is not the first energy supplier to introduce feed-in costs. Eneco and Vattenfall took similar measures earlier this month. At Eneco, the feed-in costs will come into effect from June. At Vattenfall, the measure also applies from July 1. The companies charge feed-in costs because there is an imbalance between the solar power that customers supply and the power that they purchase later in the year. That solar power often comes at times when there is a lot of energy supply, which means that the solar power is less valuable to the energy supplier. When those customers purchase electricity, the electricity price is usually higher, for example because it is winter and there is less solar energy.

The Consumer Authority & Markt recently investigated the feed-in costs and came to the conclusion that energy suppliers who have introduced this measure comply with the law. According to the authority, the return costs may be charged 'as long as they are not unreasonable'.