The head of the Ministry of Climate and Environment was asked on Polsat News whether after July 1 – when the solutions aimed at, among others, will cease to apply. Freezing electricity prices – will electricity prices shoot up?
Hennig-Klsoka reacted in order “not to scare” and informed that on Thursday a meeting was held with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and State Assets, as well as offices that determine energy prices in Poland. “I would like the monthly household bill not to increase by more than PLN 30,” she added.
According to the minister, “there is room for further price reductions” on the market, which is due to, among others, from reducing the costs of producing energy from coal due to the decline in prices of CO2 emission allowances. She added that the market was stabilizing. “There are various operating models and we are on the right track to choose the right ones,” she assured.
What will change from July 1?
The head of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment pointed out that from July 1 this year for some households, electricity prices may be “partially frozen because we are drawing different scenarios.” “There are farms that must be covered by state aid, because for them – even frozen prices – are a problem,” the minister noted, mentioning, among others, retirees living alone or large families with low incomes.
She announced that the government would provide support for such groups of people so that their electricity bills do not increase. “According to our calculations, up to 4.5 million households may still be covered by additional assistance,” she said.
At the end of 2023, an act was passed which maintains the current rules for protecting specific electricity, gas and heat consumers in the first half of 2024. The regulations provide for, among others: maximum electricity prices for households and small and medium-sized companies. The current maximum electricity price of PLN 412 per MWh net is maintained up to a specified consumption limit.
Hennig-Kloska also said that “any day now, a new prosumer act will be introduced at the level of government work”, the aim of which is to improve their settlements.
In mid-February, the minister announced work on more favorable settlements for prosumers in an interview with PAP. “Yes, the RES department is working on what we can do to improve the situation of prosumers in settlements. Ultimately, this is to improve the profitability of prosumer installations. EU legislation has changed and a return to the old rules (net metering – PAP) is certainly not possible ” – Hennig-Kloska said then.
Net billing. New prosumer settlement system
From April 1, 2022, a new prosumer settlement system (net billing) will be in force in Poland. It replaced a more favorable system based on the so-called discounts (net metering).
Net billing means that the prosumer sells the surplus energy he or she produces and, if necessary, buys it. However, he does not receive any money in his hand, and settlements are made via a prosumer account from which energy is purchased. Net billing replaced net metering, based on a system of discounts. According to the previous method, the prosumer settled for energy quantitatively. For one unit of energy fed into the network, he could download 0.8 for free. For larger installations, the ratio was 1 to 0.7.
Net metering was more beneficial for prosumers because the network was treated as a virtual energy storage from which the prosumer could obtain energy at any time in the event of a shortage. Those who have signed up for this settlement system will be able to use it for 15 years. The change in settlements was explained by the fact that net metering fulfilled its promotional role and caused a rapid increase in prosumers in Poland. It was also argued that the growth of community energy put a strain on networks that were not prepared for such a number of prosumers. Therefore, net billing is intended to encourage greater self-consumption of energy. It was also argued that in the era of increasingly expensive energy, net billing is still profitable.
