Introduction
The year 2026 will be pivotal for Polish businesses in terms of energy costs. The power fee, which is a component of the bill financing the maintenance of available capacity in the national power system, will increase for enterprises by approximately 50-55% year-over-year. For many industrial facilities and large commercial buildings, this represents a real risk of a sharp increase in operational costs, especially if the majority of consumption occurs during daytime hours. At the same time, companies with photovoltaic installations may experience both benefits and pitfalls related to their self-consumption profile. It is precisely how energy is used over time, not just the total amount, that will determine bill amounts.
With the increase in the power fee rate, entrepreneurs face a new reality. For years, they focused primarily on active energy prices and distribution costs. Today, the most important question is: how much energy do we draw from the grid on working days between 7:00 and 21:00? This time window determines the power fee calculation, and every kilowatt-hour drawn from the grid during this period burdens the company with a multiplier that in 2026 will be significantly higher than in 2025.
Why is the power fee increasing and how is it calculated?
According to applicable regulations, the rate for business consumers is defined as the price per kilowatt-hour drawn from the grid on working days, during the hours from 7:00 to 21:00. This is the period when the power system experiences the greatest load, and its stability requires the availability of adequate power reserves. The 2026 rate increase results from the need to finance new investments and maintain controllable sources, including power plants, which are capable of immediate response during peak hours.
In practice, this means that the entrepreneur pays for the system's readiness to deliver energy. If a company draws energy primarily during the 7-21 window, its exposure to the power fee is high. If it draws energy in the evenings, at night, or covers consumption from its own photovoltaics, the fee may be noticeably lower.
The increase in 2026 also results from greater demand for power reserves related to changes in the energy mix, growing electricity consumption, and the energy transformation process. The increase in the share of unstable renewable energy sources means that system maintenance costs are rising, and the power fee rate reflects this dynamic.
How the increase will affect budgets – the numbers tell everything
In 2026, the power fee rate for companies is expected to be approximately 0.2194 PLN per kWh of energy drawn during the 7-21 window. In 2025, it was 0.1412 PLN/kWh. Simple calculation shows an increase of more than half.
If a facility draws 1 GWh of energy from the grid annually during peak hours, its power fee will be approximately 219 thousand PLN. A year earlier, this cost was around 141 thousand PLN. Companies that consume 2-5 GWh annually may experience an increase of 80-200 thousand PLN.
Example: average manufacturing facility
For enterprises operating exclusively during daytime, the increase may be even more noticeable. If important technological processes, compressors, cooling systems, washing lines, and furnaces operate intensively precisely during the 7-21 window, the power fee becomes one of the largest new cost burdens of 2026.
How do photovoltaic installations change the situation?
PV installations are now standard in many industrial facilities. Until now, they were primarily viewed as a tool to reduce active energy bills. In 2026, their role in limiting the power fee is growing – PV production mostly occurs during the hours when this fee is calculated.
The challenge, however, is that photovoltaics only work when energy production from the installation covers the company's current demand. If production exceeds needs, energy is fed back to the grid, and the power fee is still charged on the remaining consumption from the grid.
In practice, two scenarios may occur:
1. Photovoltaics significantly reduce the power fee
A facility with an 800 kWp PV installation can reduce grid consumption during the 7-21 hours by as much as 25-40% during sunny months. In the example from the previous section, it was possible to reduce the fee by over 70 thousand PLN annually.
2. Photovoltaics provide no benefit due to lack of profile control
If a facility consumes a lot of energy in the morning and late afternoon, while PV produces mainly between 10 and 15, the benefit is minimal. Many companies also have a situation where most PV energy flows back to the grid because there is no synchronization of consumers with production hours.
In this case, the PV installation only partially protects against cost increases. Therefore, in 2026, what becomes crucial is not the capacity of the PV installation, but the way the enterprise manages energy over time.
The role of DSM, energy storage, and load profile "flattening"
One of the tools that allow reducing the power fee is DSM, or Demand Side Management. It involves shifting the operation of selected devices to off-peak hours or activating them when PV produces the most.
Simple actions, such as operating compressors or washing machines during the hours of 9-16, can reduce grid imports by several percent. Additional effects come from using energy storage, which can cover demand during critical time windows. This is particularly useful in facilities with high load variability.
Intelligent energy management system – the best response to the power fee increase
In practice, one of the most cost-effective actions an entrepreneur can take is installing an intelligent energy management system that in real-time:
Through such systems, the entrepreneur limits energy imports precisely when it is most expensive. This is a very practical tool that two years ago was an add-on, but today is becoming one of the key ways to reduce operational costs. In many facilities, this allows reducing the power fee by 50-80%, often without the need to invest in storage.
An additional benefit is that these systems operate fully automatically. The company does not need to analyze hundreds of charts and profile hours – the algorithm takes over optimization, and maintenance personnel receive only key information.
In most companies, effective use of DSM and energy storage requires automation based on current data. Manual control does not provide stable results, and production variability and numerous device cycles cause the profile to become unpredictable over time. The solution to this problem is an intelligent energy management system that analyzes data in real-time.
Strategies that enterprises should implement before 2026
The final section of the article provides a brief summary of recommendations. This is a set of actions that an entrepreneur can start immediately, regardless of industry.