A little over a year ago, rates for energy fed into the grid exceeded even PLN 1,000/MWh. This meant greater benefits for prosumers settling on the basis of net-billing. Today, things are not so rosy. Prices are systematically falling. The latest rate is the second lowest energy price in the history of net-billing on the Polish prosumer energy market. What will the future bring?
Net-billing in a nutshell
Net billing, introduced last year, replaced the previously used discount system. All prosumers who connected their micro-installations to the network after the first quarter of 2022 are required to use the new form of settlement. How does the system work?
Prosumers covered by net-billing deliver their surplus energy to the grid for a specified rate. This is the so-called average monthly market price of energy (RCEm) from the Day-Ahead Market (RDN) operating within the Polish Power Exchange. The value is provided monthly by the Polish Power Grids (PSE). The remuneration for the delivered energy is collected on the prosumer deposit. The funds from the deposit agreement reduce subsequent bills for energy drawn from the grid.
The beginnings were promising
The system seemed promising. For the first few months, net-billing energy prices remained at a satisfactory level, which pleased prosumers. In August 2022, the price of energy fed into the grid exceeded PLN 1,000/MWh. This was the result of the difficult situation on the energy market caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising gas prices. At the beginning of 2023, the situation began to stabilize, which caused a cyclical decline in the energy rate. The lowest price was recorded in May - PLN 380.42/MWh after correction. In June, the rate increased slightly (PLN 453.88/MWh), and from July it started to fall again. Recent quotations are not optimistic. The September RCEm rate was only PLN 405.51/MWh, which is the second lowest value since the introduction of the net-billing system.
See also: Negative energy prices will repeat – how to protect yourself against losses?
What does the future bring?
According to data from the Polish Society for Transmission and Distribution of Electricity, at the end of August 2023, there were over 1.321 million prosumer micro-installations operating in Poland, with a total capacity of over 10 GW. In the first five months of this year alone, around 60,000 prosumer micro-installations were added to the Polish market, with a total capacity of over 600 MW. In turn, from September 2022 to the end of August 2023, over 145,000 micro-installations were added. According to the data, the number of prosumers is growing by around 15,000 each month. The conclusion is simple - photovoltaics is popular on the Polish market. There is only one question left: will it continue to be profitable?
Next year will bring a change in the billing system. From July 1, 2024, an hourly rate will apply, determined in the fixing phase I. The new billing system for prosumers may prove more beneficial than the monthly rate. However, it is worth considering the recently emerging phenomenon of negative energy prices, which - due to atmospheric changes and the associated favorable weather conditions - may appear more often.
Prosumers should consider how to protect themselves against unstable rates for energy delivered today. One solution is undoubtedly to invest in an energy storage facility, which allows for the storage of surplus electricity produced at a time of low or negative prices. Surpluses can be used for household needs at a time of reduced energy production from photovoltaics or sold to the grid when prices rise.
