The end of discounts for photovoltaics prosumers

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From 2022 on, the so-called discounts for new photovoltaic prosumers will no longer be in force. Ireneusz Zyska, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, assures that the new, attractive solutions for prosumers are currently being developed.

Until now, prosumers have been able to receive a part of the electricity produced by them and transferred to the power grid. The electricity delivered to the grid could be collected by the prosumer for free, as part of the discount system.

Discounts and EU regulations

The need for changes is motivated by the EU regulations, according to which prosumers are to separately account for the energy produced and collected from the grid. The current number of prosumers in Poland is 700,000, a number large enough to be associated with certain dangers, e.g. in the network. Poland, as a member of the EU, is obliged to implement  directives, including the market directive, according to which a different model of settlement of market participants applies to those who produce energy, and lead it to the power grid, as the deputy minister explained during one of the debates on the energy transformation.

In June, a draft amendment to the RES Act was submitted for consultation, which states that from 2022 new prosumers will not be able to benefit from the discounts. Today, they can pick up 80 percent of electricity delivered free of charge in the case of a six-month settlement period. The ministry’s draft assumes that from 2022 new prosumers will sell the surplus at at least the market price, while they will have to buy additional energy for their own needs at the full price.

At the same time, the deputy minister reminds that the new rules are to apply only to new prosumers. Prosumers who enter the system before the end of 2021, i.e. produce the first kilowatt-hour of energy and introduce it to the grid, will be able to benefit from the discount for the next 15 years.

Forecasts cannot keep up

The projected amount of installed capacity in photovoltaics for 2030 is 7 gigawatts, but today this figure is approaching the value of 5.5 gigawatts. According to current forecasts, the installed PV capacity will amount to approx. 15 gigawatts in 2025. This shows a great perspective and a chance for the integration of RES with the national power system, according to the deputy minister. Therefore, in the next two years, Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040 will have to change, due to, among other factors, the Fit for 55 package as well as the previously unforeseen changes in the energy sector, such as the dynamic development of photovoltaics.