Energy bills in 2026 – what will change? Overview of the new fee rates and calculation of the scale of increases

Capacity fee – record increase of over 55%

The biggest challenge for companies’ budgets in the coming year will be a sharp increase in the capacity fee. For business customers, this rate will increase from the current PLN 141.20/MWh to as much as PLN 219.40/MWh. This means an increase of over 55%, which will be painfully felt especially by enterprises operating during peak demand hours.

The capacity fee, which has been in force in Poland since 2021 under the Capacity Market Act of 8 December 2017, is not a charge for the energy actually consumed, but a fee for the plant’s readiness to deliver power and maintain the country’s energy security. While households and smaller consumers (C1 to 16 kW tariff) are billed as a lump sum, most companies pay a variable rate, depending on the consumption profile. In 2026, this fee will be charged for energy consumed on weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m.

However, this cost can be significantly reduced by consciously managing the consumption profile, as customers are assigned to one of four categories (K1–K4), paying from 17% of the base rate for a flat profile (difference in daily consumption < 5%) to a full 100% for high volatility (difference ≥ 15%). You can read about how to optimize the cost of the capacity fee in the article “The capacity fee will increase sharply in 2026. How to reduce its costs?”.

RES fee – increase by over 100%

Another important change is the new level of the RES fee. The Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) has presented a rate for 2026, which will amount to PLN 7.30 per MWh. This is an increase of over 100% compared to the rate in force in 2025, which was PLN 3.50/MWh.

This fee supports the generation of electricity from renewable sources and mechanisms ensuring a high share of “green energy” in the national energy mix. The funds from it go to RES producers as a guarantee of the price for the energy sold, and in the future they will also support offshore wind farms and biomethane production.

Cogeneration fee – rate unchanged

Contrary to the earlier project, which assumed an increase in the cogeneration fee to PLN 4.36/MWh, there will ultimately be no increase in this component in 2026. The Minister of Energy has signed a regulation according to which the cogeneration fee rate in 2026 will remain unchanged and will amount to PLN 3.00 per MWh.

The purpose of the cogeneration levy is closely related to the financing of the promotion of electricity generation from high-efficiency cogeneration, i.e. the simultaneous production of electricity and heat.

Transitional fee – complete liquidation

Finally, the good news – from January 1, 2026, the transition fee will disappear from our accounts. By the decision of the Minister of Energy, this component of the bill ceases to apply, which results from the fact that it is no longer necessary for energy security and the functioning of the system.

The transitional fee has so far been charged as part of distribution fees and served to compensate energy producers in connection with the termination of Long-Term Contracts. In the opinion of the Ministry, its liquidation is in line with the strategy of reducing energy costs and introducing savings for both households and enterprises.

Cost Simulation: Year 2025 vs 2026

Will the abolition of one fee compensate for the increases in others? Unfortunately, mathematics is inexorable. We have prepared a list that shows how the total costs of distribution-related fees (capacity, RES, cogeneration and transition) will change for several different company profiles.

The data presented in the table reveal a very consistent picture of increases, which will affect all entrepreneurs almost equally in percentage.

• Solidarity growth of more than 50%: Regardless of whether the company is a large industrial plant (B21) or a small business (C11), the increase in the cost of distribution fees is at an almost identical level of 53-54%.
• Nominal burden for industry: Although the percentage increase is similar, in absolute numbers, it is large industry that will pay the most. For an example of a B21 customer, the annual costs will increase by nearly PLN 190 thousand. This is a huge item in the operating budget, resulting from the effect of scale – with a consumption of 12,700 MWh, each zloty of increase per MWh is multiplied thousands of times.
• Consumption profile and costs: It is worth noting that a large customer (B21) in the simulation has a differentiated consumption profile (part of the volume in the cheaper K1-K3 capacity fee baskets), while smaller companies are settled in full in the most expensive K4 basket. Despite this optimization, a large customer records an increase in costs (53%) very similar to companies without optimization (54%). This suggests that the increase in the base fee rate itself is so strong that it “eats” the benefits of having a better profile, although without it, the increases for the industry would probably be even more severe.

Summary

There is one conclusion. In 2026, every entrepreneur – from micro to large companies – must prepare for this part of the energy bill to increase by half. The key to minimizing losses remains active management of the consumption profile in order to fall into the cheaper capacity fee ranges (K1-K3) and minimize the effects of increases.

Do you want to prepare your company for the increase in energy costs in 2026? Contact us to optimize your distribution costs.