The prosumer scheme for businesses

On 25 June 2019, the so-called prosumer scheme, previously provided for in the Act on renewable energy sources, was adopted. The scheme extends the granting of prosumer status also to entities from the small and medium-sized enterprise sector.

According to data from the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology, now the Ministry of Development, around 28,000 photovoltaic micro-installations were built in Poland in 2018, with a combined capacity of approximately 173 MW. The government launched the Energia Plus programme to help increase the importance of photovoltaics as part of promoting renewable energy sources (RES). Entrepreneurs can start producing energy for their own needs and settle accounts with energy companies under a system of discounts favourable to them. Extending the list of prosumers to small and medium-sized companies represented a significant shift towards the development of small business, which is particularly exposed to systematic increases in electricity prices.

The draft of the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers also included an amendment tabled by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski. It allows the creation of so-called energy cooperatives, which can benefit from prosumer rules for electricity settlements through price discounts. Representatives of the Polish government hope that the changes made will significantly contribute to increased interest in photovoltaics, both among individuals and numerous entrepreneurs. The project also serves the long-term reduction of the emissions of the Polish energy sector, which is one of the requirements imposed by European Union legislation.

Assumptions of the Energia Plus programme

Discounts

This term refers to a cashless form of settling the electricity produced by a prosumer in a photovoltaic installation. Discount-based settlement is governed by the agreement between the prosumer and the energy seller. Annual contractual periods are most often adopted here, although the parties may change such a period.

Discounts are available to owners of micro-installations with a maximum capacity of up to 50 kW. Owners of installations with a capacity of up to 10 kW feed surplus energy produced into the grid and receive it back at a ratio of 1 to 0.8. For owners of installations up to 50 kW, this ratio is 1 to 0.7.

Once the act enters into force, prosumers will have the opportunity to carry over the surplus energy obtained in this way to subsequent settlement periods.