The gas price limit for households and the so-called sensitive recipients who is PLN 200.17 per MWh net (this is the amount without VAT, together with tax it is PLN 246.21). If the government does not introduce new protective solutions, bills will increase from July.
Will bills actually increase dramatically?
As part of this protection package, the government plans to introduce a legal basis for introducing lower tariffs for electricity and natural gas. The Ministry of Climate wants the president of the Energy Regulatory Office to be able to reduce the currently applicable tariffs because prices on wholesale markets are falling and the ministry does not agree to “excessive profits of state energy companies at the expense of citizens and the state budget.” As a result, the new gas tariff, as estimated by the Ministry of Climate, will amount to approx 220 PLN per MWh net. The price of gas will therefore increase by PLN 20 per megawatt hour.
“The project assumes the expiration of the current tariff of the largest seller on June 30, 2024 and introduces the obligation to approve a new tariff for the period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.” – explains Magdalena Dąbrowska in response to money.pl’s questions, spokeswoman for the Energy Regulatory Office.
Energy vouchers, i.e. bill subsidies, are also intended to help those most in need. However, these solutions are still only projects for now. They are scheduled to take office on Tuesday, April 30. The date of their adoption will determine when the Energy Regulatory Office will be able to apply to distributors with a new tariff that takes into account the interests of both citizens and companies. That’s why time is so key here. And experience shows that the ministry’s recent ideas – such as the one regarding electricity prices – required numerous corrections submitted by both the Ministry of Finance and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection..
You will have to stop freezing anyway
Even though the government is now planning new support for gas prices, ultimately Poland will have to move away from freezing prices. In the next three years, we will see a return to market rules, thanks to the European Commission obliged us to free gas prices for households from the control of the Energy Regulatory Office.
As we explained at money.pl, in accordance with the CJEU judgment of 2015, Poland was obliged to set the cut-off date for this change. Initially, it was assumed that prices would be released at the beginning of 2024
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Due to the gas crisis, the PiS government amended the Energy Law and, as part of the so-called anti-inflation shield postponed the tariff period until the end of 2027. According to experts, there may be no better time from the point of view of the market situation.
Cheaper on exchanges than in bills
The Ministry of Climate wants the Energy Regulatory Office to approve new, lower gas tariffs because market prices are falling. The main determinant of wholesale prices for our region are gas prices on the Dutch TTF exchange.
Over the course of the year, you can see how the price of contracts has been gradually decreasing. A year ago it was EUR 55.6 per MWh (equivalent to PLN 240.75 at the NBP exchange rate of April 29, 2024), and currently EUR 28.2 per MWh (PLN 121.93).
Current contract prices for May are even lower than the frozen rate of PLN 200.17 per MWh in force in Poland. For comparison: the price of natural gas on the Polish Power Exchange in Warsaw, where Polish distributors purchase their supplies, for deliveries on Monday (April 29) is PLN 135.75 per MWh. So also less.
However, it is easy to fall into a trap – as we have already explained in money.pl. This is the wholesale price of contracts for the next month and although it is a factor shaping retail prices in the long run, does not translate directly and automatically into the bills of individual households.
They are influenced by many elements, and one of the main ones that currently determines how much we actually pay for the gas used in our homes is the price set by the Energy Regulatory Office. But that’s not all. In addition to the tariffs agreed with the regulator, the state conducts its pricing policy.
“The prices of gas fuels in the tariffs for the sale of gas fuels approved by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office are resultant of the costs of purchasing gas fuels (resulting from already concluded contracts and planned purchases), as well as the own costs of the trading company, i.e. the so-called justified costs of business activity. Current quotations of various futures products may be lower than in the approved tariffs and lower than the value indicated in the Act,” the Energy Regulatory Office informed us at the beginning of April.
Przemysław Ciszak, journalist of money.pl
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