Amendment to the act on renewable energy sources

Today in the Sejm 244 MPs voted in favour of the amendments to the act on renewable energy sources, 177 MPs voted against, and 19 MPs abstained from the vote. In favour were the MPs of PiS and a part of the Kukiz15 parliamentary club. Against – PO, Nowoczesna and PSL. The MPs who abstained were the remaining MPs of the Kukiz15 club.

Another draft of an amendment on backing renewable energy sources was prepared by the Energy resort, but it landed in Sejm as an MP initiative of a group of PiS MPs. The regulation is to replace the act on renewable energy sources passed near the end of the previous Sejm term by the PO-PSL coalition, remodelling the rules for supporting the development of energy coming from renewable sources. The act, among other things, changes the definition of a prosument, i.e. a person who is simultaneously a producer and a consumer of energy.

In the system of renewable energy auctions, the new legal provisions foresee most support for the technologies which produce energy in a stable and predictable way. This means that less backing will be directed to the production of energy from wind and sun. The lawmakers propose introducing baskets / technological groups. There will also be clusters and energy associations formed. A definition of local biomass i.e. acquired primarily in the area of up to 300 km of the renewable energy installation, was introduced as well.

Liquidation of guaranteed tariffs

In comparison with the previous amendment, the support for prosuments, simultaneous producers and consumers of energy, will be changed. In accordance with the amendment passed today, prosuments can be not only physical persons but also local governments, churches and companies. Meanwhile, in place of guaranteed tariffs, included in the amendment of February 2015, they will receive the so-called discounts, i.e. settlement of the difference between the amount of energy which the prosument produced (for example with a photovoltaic panel) and the energy they consumed (during the time the sun is not shining and the panel does not produce electricity). Apart from that, the act predicts that small and micro entrepreneurs will be able to settle the energy produced on market terms.

The government was consistently against the guaranteed tariffs, convincing that the system is too expensive and unjust, as its costs would be covered by other consumers of energy. The act foresees an increase of the so-called transition fee, added to energy bills, and connected with the costs of liquidation of long-term energy plant contracts. For households, the fee will be increased from 3.87 PLN to 8 PLN gross per month. Other consumers would pay an increased fee as well.

At the same time, the government declared that it is not against prosumerism, yet it wants prosuments to produce energy only for their own needs. The opposition and groups connected with civic energy sector were against the liquidation of guaranteed tariffs. They argue that discounts will not foster development of this type of energy production, as investment in micro-sources will be recouped after many years. They claim prosumerism will be an option available only for very affluent moguls.