Before the end of March 2022, PV companies were facing a real siege by customers. All due to the change in the billing system from the familiar system of discounts (net-metering) to the new and complicated net-billing. Is net-billing really as complicated as everyone thinks? Has the current billing system wiped out the chances of a quick payback on a photovoltaic installation? And finally – was net-metering such a simple and obvious billing system? Does photovoltaics still pay off in 2024? We answer all these questions below.
In a net-metering system, the prosumer produced electricity from a photovoltaic installation, used part of the energy on an ongoing basis and the rest was ‘stored’ on the grid. The prosumer was able to take 70% or 80% of the previously surrendered energy from the grid for free. Billing was quantitative – it depended on the amount of energy the prosumer fed into the grid. By design, the system presented is simple, quantifiable and understandable.
The basic and most important change that takes place in net-billing is that energy put into the grid is billed not by its quantity, but by its current price. The system provides an incentive to increase self-consumption of energy. A prosumer using net-billing is exempt from paying PIT, excise duty and VAT.
The photovoltaic modules produce electricity during the day when the price is high. This allows the prosumer to sell energy at a higher price and, when the sun goes down, to buy electricity at a lower price in the evening.
Firstly , self-consumption. The energy that the prosumer uses for self-consumption is not subject to taxes, levies or other costs. This is typically between 20% and 30% of the energy generated.
Secondly, the value of the electricity that is credited to the prosumer’s individual account.
Thirdly, the cost of the electricity drawn from the grid is billed according to the seller’s tariff. Variable distribution charges are calculated on the basis of the volume of energy drawn from the grid, and the cost of energy can be covered by funds accumulated in the prosumer’s account.
A prosumer account is an individual account that accounts for surplus energy fed into and taken from the grid.
The prosumer deposit will accumulate funds for electricity injected into the grid. The value of the energy injected is settled according to the average energy rate of the previous month. The money accumulated in the deposit can be used to settle the amount due for the purchase of energy from the grid. Funds can be settled for 12 months from the moment they are allocated as a deposit. The funds with the oldest allocation date are settled first. Unused funds from the deposit shall be surrendered to the prosumer on an overpayment basis for month 13, the amount of this overpayment may not exceed 20 % of the value of the energy fed into the grid in the month to which the overpayment is returned. The funds from the deposit cannot be used to settle distribution charges or, for example, a trading charge. They must be settled from their own resources.
The graphic above shows the effective dates of net-billing. From 1.07.2022, the settlement of surplus electricity fed into the grid is settled on the basis of the average market price of energy from the previous calendar month. From 1.07.2024 onwards, energy will be settled on the basis of hourly rates and the separate settlement of energy fed into and taken from the electricity grid. The value of energy injected into the grid will be determined according to the exchange price, hourly in the following day’s markets, and the price will be determined by the energy information operator. The value of energy withdrawn will be according to the supplier’s tariff.
The new billing system is at least as cost-effective as the discount system. The payback time for both systems is very similar or in some cases identical. The possibility of billing the value of the electricity, rather than the quantity as was the case until 31.03.2022, allows funds to accumulate in the prosumer’s account that will effectively reduce the electricity bill. After 1 July 2024, thanks to the hourly rate of the electricity price, the prosumer will sell electricity at a higher price (during the day) than he will buy (in the evening and at night).
Sources:
https://pieniadze.rp.pl/inwestycje-w-domu/art17448051-jaka-jest-oplacalnosc-instalacji-fotowoltaicznych-to-zalezy
https://www.energa.pl/dom/oferty/prosument.html
youtube.com/watch?v=agZ1jd9qa20
“New billing rules for Prosumers from 2022”, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Warsaw, December 2021.
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