The Polish Parliament has passed amendments proposed by the Climate and Environment Ministry on new measures for setting electricity prices and changes to renewable installations in line with the EU Renewable Energy Directive 2018 (RED II).
The amendment on household power prices aims to provide new regulatory tools to reduce energy bills for households, small and medium-sized enterprises and vulnerable customers.
The amendment would change the current annual price freeze for household electricity consumption. These changes would be implemented by energy suppliers this year, based on the price levels and fee rates from 2022. These limits have been increased by 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) to 3 MWh for general households, 3.6 MWh for people with disabilities and 4 MWh for farmers and “Large Family Card” recipients.
These increased limits would apply in relation to the volume of energy consumed starting from the beginning of 2023. Therefore, even if a consumer exceeds the previous consumption limit before the amendment comes into effect, the supplier will settle an additional 1 MWh with the consumer at “frozen” prices, based on invoice corrections.
If adopted, the new limits are expected to have a “particularly positive” impact on households, including multi-generational homes, that consume larger amounts of electricity, the Polish Climate and Environment Ministry has said.
Additionally, the new regulations would introduce a reduction in the maximum price for electricity for small and medium-sized enterprises, local government units and vulnerable consumers, from 785 złotys (175 euros)/MWh to 693 złotys (155 euros)/MWh. The new maximum price would be applicable from 1 October.
Separately, the second amendment, primarily aimed at implementing the EU RED II Directive, would introduce extensive changes, covering hybrid installations of renewables, energy clusters, modernisation and operational support for installations of renewables, as well as complementary regulations regarding offshore wind energy.
The amendment also includes provisions enabling the connection of more than one renewable energy installation at a single connection point, known as “cable pooling.”
Both draft laws have been submitted to the President of Poland Andrzej Duda for final legislative approval.
