The cap was intended to reduce national carbon dioxide emissions.
In a letter to parliament, Energy Minister Rob Jetten said compensation for the three companies operating coal plants in the Netherlands - RWE, Uniper (UN01.DE) and privately held Onyx - would be less than the 1.9 billion euros they had demanded.
That's because the cap was abruptly removed in mid-2022 as part of moves to reduce use of scarce gas following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Compensation for the other two companies has not yet been determined, but the Netherlands has reserved 730 million euros in all for compensation, Jetten said.
The plants will still be forced to close by 2030 under Dutch law. In November last year, a court rejected the companies' claims for additional compensation for that.
