Solar Energy Journal – The hard numbers

Feed charges for Flemish solar panel owners with a variable power contract reached a record high of 51 euro cents per kWh for customers with a single tariff last September. For double-tariff customers, these amounted to 54 cents and 42 euros per kilowatt-hour, day and night, respectively. Since then, feed charges have gone into free fall and are now down to 8, 9 and 5 euro cents per kWh, respectively.

2 energy contracts
Since January 1, 2021, Flemish consumers and companies that install solar panels on their roofs are required to enter into not one, but two energy contracts: one for the energy they buy and one for the energy they sell.

By entering into a feed-in contract, Flemish people can receive a feed-in fee for the energy injected from their solar panels. In the case of a single price contract, there is a single feed rate. With the double price, there are two different rates for day and night feeding. Depending on the municipality and network operator, the night rate is between 9pm and 6am or between 10pm and 7am. In addition, there is the possibility to choose contracts with a fixed rate or a variable rate.

Variable contracts: down to 88 percent
The Flemish energy regulator VREG closely monitors the evolution of feed tariffs, but also electricity prices. On fixed power contracts, feed-in charges to consumers and businesses with solar panels peaked in February last year. With contracts changing, feed charges were at an all-time high in September for both consumers and businesses.

The graphs below show the evolution of feeding tariffs for homes and businesses with a variable power contract for single and double tariffs (day and night version). Since last September, feed-in fees for variable energy contracts have fallen 85 to 88 percent.

Perpetual Contracts: Low Stable
Feeder fees for perpetual contracts have steadied at a low level since the beginning of this calendar year. Fees fell sharply after the summer of last year and have stabilized at the level of 4 to 6 euro cents per kWh since the beginning of this year. Compared to last year, feed-in payments fell by more than half.

The graphs below show the evolution of feeding tariffs for homes and businesses with fixed power nodes for single and double tariffs (day and night).

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