What happens behind the scenes when your charging sessions are converted into income

From 2026, individuals with a home charger can have their EREs (Emission Reduction Units) registered through an accredited emission credit service provider, turning their charging sessions into income. But what does that process actually involve? And why does choosing the right party determine whether your ERE earnings are paid out reliably and automatically?

Individuals cannot register independently

Under the new ERE system, individuals are able to have their electricity registered with the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEa). This can only be done through an accredited emission credit service provider. That's not a bureaucratic hurdle — it's a logical choice: the process places high demands on data collection, administration, and independent verification.

What you need to arrange yourself: the authorization

To participate as an individual, you give the emission credit service provider a signed authorization. That authorization must include:

• Your name and signature

• The address and EAN code of your electricity connection

• Permission for the NEa to request data from your grid operator

• Permission for the verifier and emission credit service provider to inspect your charging location

• The date of issue and the validity period — at least one full calendar year

That last point is deliberate. The authorization covers a full calendar year, so the emission credit service provider can demonstrate what was charged during that entire period.

One important caveat: the same connection can only be linked to one emission credit service provider at a time. Double registrations are not permitted and will result in your account being blocked. Any costs or damages arising from this can be recovered from the home charger by the emission credit service provider.

What happens next: verification

An emission credit service provider cannot register EREs on their own authority. Every registration process is reviewed annually by an independent verifier. They visit the emission credit service provider's office to check the administration and authorizations, similar to how this already works for businesses that register. On top of that, the verifier makes sample visits to actual charging locations, based on a risk analysis.

What must the emission credit service provider be able to demonstrate per connection?

• That a regulated measuring instrument is present (a certified MID meter, as defined under the Metrology Act)

• The actual measured charging volumes (kWh) from that instrument

• That physical charging infrastructure is present at the location

• Purchase invoices for the electricity (in the case of an exclusive connection)

That's a substantial amount of documentation per customer. And that documentation must be traceable, verifiable, and beyond dispute.

The 2% threshold: why it directly affects you

The NEa sets a clear requirement: the total of all registered charging sessions may contain no more than a 2% error margin. That 2% applies not per individual customer, but across the emission credit service provider as a whole, averaged over the entire customer base.

This has a concrete consequence: if an emission credit service provider works with incomplete administration, loose files, or data that can't be traced  (even for just a portion of their customers) it increases the error margin for everyone. A poorly substantiated file for customer A can jeopardise the verification of customer B, even if customer B's own file is perfectly in order.

Providers who rely on manual CSV exports, photos of chargers, or incomplete processes offer insufficient guarantees. The origin and integrity of the data can't be objectively established and the link to the correct installation isn't transparently demonstrable. At verification, that can lead to rejection of the entire customer base.

Why your emission credit service provider choice matters

Annual verification works at the level of the emission credit service provider, not per individual customer. If the error margin exceeds 2% across the total, all registrations for that calendar year are rejected, including the perfectly substantiated sessions of other customers. An emission credit service provider cannot selectively push through only strong files and set aside weaker ones. That's not how the verification system works.

Some providers only pay out ERE proceeds after verification has been completed and approved; others do so earlier. If the 2% threshold isn't met and nothing has been paid out yet, customers receive nothing for that calendar year, including those with flawless files. Always check your emission credit service provider's terms carefully: it does happen that this verification risk is passed on to the customer.

Example: suppose an emission credit service provider has 1,000 customers who all charge a similar amount at home. For 25 of them, it later turns out the charger wasn't MID-certified, so their sessions are rejected. The error margin comes to 2.5%, just above the threshold.

With providers who only pay out after verification and place this risk with the customer, none of the 1,000 customers receives a payment for that year. Not even the 975 with a flawless file.

What to look for in an emission credit service provider

Choose an emission credit service provider with an automated, digital, and verifiable system, and you can be confident that:

• every charging session is recorded and validated in real time;

• the link between your connection, meter, and location is unambiguously demonstrable;

• the verifier has access to a complete, traceable verification file

At Voltico, the entire registration process has been built from the ground up in the demanding business market, based on exactly these principles: automated data collection, charging sessions tracked in a digital ledger per customer, and processes designed to stay well within the 2% threshold. Not as a last resort, but as a starting point.

Ready to turn your charging data into income? Sign up and you'll be invited next month (June) to connect your home charger.

Still have questions about authorization, verification, or your specific charger? Check our FAQ or get in touch. We're happy to help.