Starting in 2027, negative prices in the European electricity market could affect the compensation received by solar panel owners in Schweier.
KEYSTONE
People who feed solar power from their home systems into the grid may soon receive less money. Starting in 2027, the price will vary every quarter-hour and may even be negative. In that case, feeding power into the grid will cost money.
Stefan Michel
Generating electricity on your own roof and, if you don't need it yourself, selling it back to the public grid for a fee—for many years, that was the model that made installing solar panels on your own home financially attractive. But those days are over.
Instead of receiving money for the solar power that owners of small PV systems feed into the grid, they may soon have to pay for it. Starting in 2027, the feed-in tariff will no longer be set quarterly, but rather every quarter-hour. The price on the European spot market will be the determining factor, and that price can even be negative. In that case, it won’t be those who supply electricity who receive money, but those who consume it.
The dynamic feed-in tariff will take effect in Switzerland on January 1, 2027—unless the local electricity provider has agreed to a different compensation arrangement with the PV system owners. The Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE) told blue News that it expects as few of its members as possible to offer such an agreement, as it would diminish the desired effect.
The reason for the new compensation model is the expansion of solar power production in Switzerland. The industry association Swissolar explains: “Within just a few years, photovoltaics have become a cornerstone of the electricity supply, and by 2026, solar power is expected to cover nearly 17 percent of Switzerland’s electricity demand.”
As a result, on sunny summer days around noon, more solar power is generated than can be used. Power grids cannot store energy and rely on the amount of electricity drawn from the grid matching the amount fed into it at all times. That is why the price of electricity on the European market then drops below zero. Anyone who needs electricity at that time can get paid for their energy consumption.
To prevent the Swiss grid from becoming overloaded with solar power at midday, the grid operator will be able to curtail PV systems starting in 2026—that is, to limit the amount of power they feed into the grid from an external source. If the system owner does not have a storage unit or any other way to consume the solar power themselves, the mini-power plant on the roof will temporarily cease operation. However, by law, the system may not restrict more than 3 percent of its annual production. The VSE recommends operating systems generally at only 70 percent of their maximum capacity.
The industry is working on various levels to balance electricity generation and consumption. For example, electric utility companies recommend running dishwashers, washing machines, and water heaters during the day; they also suggest that electric cars be plugged in during the day rather than overnight. Energy management systems automatically take care of this. Those without such a system may be able to use a timer to run their household appliances at the optimal time—or they’ll have to stay home to do so.
The dynamic feed-in tariff is the next step toward reducing peak feed-in during summer afternoons. “This creates incentives to feed electricity into the grid, store it, or consume it yourself when it makes the most sense for the power system,” explains the VSE in its statement on the legislative change.
The association points out that owners of small-scale systems can supply their solar power when demand is high and prices are correspondingly high. However, delayed feed-in requires an energy storage system, and these are expensive. For many years, the rule has been that solar power only pays off financially if owners consume a large portion of it themselves—without using a battery.
Modern storage systems automatically control power feed-in based on spot market prices. Nevertheless, a battery is another significant investment in addition to the PV system. For a long time, batteries were not considered cost-effective. Swissolar notes that they are now cost-effective in many cases, though this depends on their size, the solar system’s production profile, and the household’s consumption pattern.
In recent years, batteries for solar power generated by residential systems have become significantly cheaper. According to figures from Swissolar, the price of a storage unit capable of holding 15 kilowatt-hours of electricity fell by more than 30 percent between 2023 and 2025 alone. However, a home battery is still a major expense. While an average PV system for a single-family home costs between 25,000 and 30,000 francs, the appropriate storage system adds another 5,000 to 8,000 francs, as calculated by the Central Swiss electricity provider CKW in Central Switzerland .
Even before the change takes effect, solar expansion in Switzerland appears to be responding to it. In 2025, for the first time since 2017, fewer solar power systems were purchased than in the previous year, with the decline amounting to nearly 30 percent. By contrast, demand for energy storage systems has risen by 70 percent.
This could also be due to the “cannibalization effect” described by Swissolar on its website. This refers to the fact “that renewable energies reduce their own market value (…) by feeding power into the grid simultaneously.” In other words: The more parties feed solar power into the grid at the same time, the less each individual receives for it, and the less profitable it becomes for them. Swissolar has therefore long been calling for a dynamic feed-in tariff, which will become a reality in 2027.
Since its founding, the industry association has been lobbying for the expansion of solar energy use. It therefore has a vested interest in ensuring that owners of solar power systems can feed their surplus electricity into the grid on attractive terms. While dynamic rates make this more difficult, they do not make it impossible. Swissolar has calculated that, when looking at all systems in Switzerland, the total yield will be roughly the same.
VSE and Swissolar say it is not expected that plant owners will have to cover the difference starting in 2027. Electric utilities make payments quarterly at the average price for that period. This price will not be negative, even if negative prices are factored into the calculation. In addition, there is a minimum payment based on the system’s output.
In certain regions, electricity providers also pay a premium for the certificate of origin—a kind of bonus for electricity generated locally. On the other hand, those who continue to feed electricity into the grid mainly at midday tend to fare worse, Swissolar explained to blue News.
The new rates are beneficial not only for those who have a storage system, but also for those whose solar panels face east or west, allowing them to harness the morning or evening sun. During these hours, the grid needs the electricity more urgently, which is why prices are higher.
Given the minimal compensation, however, the question remains whether the new model will actually lead to a smoothing of solar power feed-in. The VSE does not expect a rapid effect. The minimum tariff reduces the incentive to refrain from feeding electricity into the grid when negative prices are in effect in Europe. Nevertheless, the Association of Electricity Suppliers anticipates that a new pattern will develop over time.
It’s hard to make big money with stored solar power. It would likely take years just to recoup the cost of the battery through the sale of electricity. Swissolar and VSE agree that the most profitable approach remains to consume the solar power generated on one’s own building.
Self-consumption remains the simplest way to protect the grid from excessive feed-in.
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