Net metering ends 1 January 2027: how your annual bill changes

Up to and including 31 December 2026 nothing changes: you still net meter in full. Every kilowatt-hour you export is offset on the annual bill against a kilowatt-hour you draw, up to at most your annual draw. Including energy tax and VAT.

On 1 January 2027 that stops in one step. The government deliberately chose not to phase it down gradually: full net metering until end 2026, none after. From that moment you pay for everything you draw from the grid, and receive a feed-in payment from your supplier for everything you export.

An example makes it concrete. Say you use 2,200 kWh per year and your panels generate 3,400 kWh. You use 1,100 kWh directly while the sun shines; that power never passes the meter. So you draw 1,100 kWh from the grid and export 2,300 kWh.

While the net metering scheme applies, your supplier offsets that 1,100 kWh of draw entirely against your export. For the 1,200 kWh you export beyond that, you receive a feed-in payment. On balance you pay almost nothing for power: only standing charges and any feed-in charges.

From 1 January 2027 you will see three differences on your annual bill:

1. You pay for your draw in full. The 1,100 kWh from the example is no longer offset; you pay your normal supply rate on it, including energy tax and VAT. 2. Your export is paid separately. For all 2,300 kWh you receive a feed-in payment. From 2027 a legal floor applies: at least 50 percent of the bare supply rate, until at least 2030. Per kilowatt-hour that payment is well below what drawing power costs you, because your draw also carries taxes. 3. Feed-in charges remain a separate item. Many suppliers charge costs for processing exported power, and that remains allowed after 2027. How those charges work and what to do about them is in our explainer on feed-in charges.

The core: from 2027, exporting earns much less than drawing costs. Every kilowatt-hour you use yourself instead of exporting is then worth the difference between your full supply rate and the net payment.

No. The power you use directly while your panels generate never passes the meter, so it remains worth your full electricity rate, also after 2027. What changes is the centre of gravity: the gain will no longer sit in exporting, but in self-consumption.

If you align your usage well with the sun, your return holds up fine. Payback does take longer without net metering than in the old situation, but how much depends on your usage pattern, your tariff and your system. That is why our quotes calculate with your figures, not last year's assumptions.

Half a year is enough to prepare your household. Four steps that make the difference:

1. Shift usage to the solar hours. Running the washing machine, dishwasher and boiler during the day costs nothing and raises your self-consumption immediately. How to approach that, including automatically, is covered in smart home energy management. 2. Get a home battery calculated. A battery shifts your midday surplus to the evening and becomes structurally more valuable from 2027. The full trade-off is in our comparison with or without a home battery. 3. Check your energy contract. What feed-in payment do you get, what feed-in charges do you pay, and does a fixed or dynamic contract suit your generation better? 4. Check your meter. A smart meter that records draw and export separately is the basis for a correct bill, and for any smart steering after that.

Net metering ends on 1 January 2027, in one step. Your annual bill changes from offsetting to two separate items: full payment for draw, a payment for export. Solar panels remain worthwhile, but the focus shifts to self-consumption. If you start aligning with that now, you will notice it sooner on the new bill.

Do you let out homes with solar panels? For rental homes with an energy performance fee (EPV) the end of net metering cuts deeper: the government wants to lower the EPV rates per 2027. What that means for housing associations and landlords is covered in our article on the proposed reduction of the EPV rates.

Considering a home battery with your panels, or want to know whether your system is ready for the new situation? Put your situation to us and we will calculate what changes for you.