The Sollab Team — renewable energy consultants and installers, Pomerania since 2011 · Over 1,200 installations in Pomerania · Article based on data from PSE and Globenergia.pl · June 2026
Over a three-month period — from January to April 2026 — the price at which prosumers sell energy to the grid fell by more than four times, from 551 zł to 132 zł per MWh. An all-time low in the history of Polish net-billing. We explain how it works, show you the figures and set out exactly what to do if you have a solar panel system on your roof.
The history of RCEm 2026 — what the price trend looks like
Back in January, the RCEm stood at almost 552 zł per MWh — high winter demand and low PV generation kept prices at a favourable level for prosumers. Then spring arrived.
| Month | RCEm | Context |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | 551.96 PLN/MWh | Winter, high demand — highest RCEm since 2023 |
| February 2026 | 339.01 PLN/MWh | The first sunny days, the start of a marked drop |
| March 2026 | 191.95 PLN/MWh | A sharp rise in PV generation within the system |
| April 2026 | 132.92 zł/MWh — A RECORD LOW | An all-time low in the history of net billing |
| May 2026 | 191.37 zł/MWh | A slight rebound, still below May 2025 levels |
Source: Polish Power Grid (PSE), Globenergia.pl, Fotovolteo.pl
The mechanism is simple and inexorable: the more PV installations generate at the same time during the sunny midday hours, the more the price of energy on the exchange falls. Prosumers sell the most energy precisely when it is worth the least.
May Day 2026 — when the grid literally didn’t know what to do with all the electricity
The May bank holidays in 2026 provided a dramatic illustration of this problem. Sunny days on public holidays, maximum PV generation, minimal industrial demand. Energy prices on the Polish Power Exchange (TGE) fell to negative values.
The record for photovoltaic power output was set on 20 May 2026 at 11.45 — 14.5 GW, covering nearly 75% of domestic demand (PSE data). In 2025, PSE curtailed a total of 1.4 TWh of renewable energy generation, three-quarters of which came from solar power — and 2026 is steadily exacerbating this trend.
| Day | Minimum price | PV curtailment by PSE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May (Friday) | –1,457 zł/MWh (2.15 pm) | Max. 3.5 GW; negative prices from 9.00 to 16.45 |
| 2 May (Saturday) | –991 zł/MWh | Approx. 1.7 GW; renewable energy sources temporarily met 78% of demand — a record |
| 3 May (Sunday) | –509 zł/MWh | Approx. 2.8 GW of PV curtailment |
Source: PSE, PAP, WNP.pl
The mathematics of losses — how much does a low RCEm cost in practice?
An 8 kWp system, on a typical spring day. Generation: 38 kWh; self-consumption: 10 kWh; feed-in to the grid: 28 kWh at a feed-in tariff of 0.13 zł/kWh:
| Contribution to the prosumer fund (with a multiplier of 1.23) | 28 × 0.13 × 1.23 = approx. 4.47 zł |
| The same electricity purchased from the grid in the evening | 28 × 1.23 zł/kWh = 34.44 zł |
| Actual daily difference | approx. 30 zł/day = approx. 900 zł/month during the season |
Owners of energy storage facilities made record profits in July 2026: Gramwzielone.pl (7 July 2026) reported that energy prices from prosumers during the evening hours reached record highs in July during the heatwave. Owners of storage facilities were able to use or sell in the evening the energy they had collected free of charge at midday. Owners of installations without storage facilities sold the same energy for a few groszy.
The trend is one-way — what’s next for RCE?
Poland is adding 3–4 GW of new capacity each year. Every new GW exacerbates the spring energy surplus at midday. The more PV there is, the lower the midday prices, and the lower the value of surplus sales. This is a structural trend — not a seasonal anomaly.
The question is no longer „is it worth having a warehouse?”, but „when to buy one and which one to choose”.
Three things you can do right now
1. Check the inverter logs
In the app (Huawei FusionSolar, SolarEdge, Fronius Solar.web), look for the energy balance. If more than 40% of your generation is feeding into the grid, you have significant scope for improvement.
2. Reschedule the operating times for household appliances and EV chargers to 10:00–14:00
A free, instant increase in self-consumption of 10–20%. No costs involved — just a change to the timer settings.
3. Analyse the cost-effectiveness of energy storage
With an NFOŚiGW grant of up to 16,000 zł (SME Part II, starting in September 2026) and eligible costs from 1 November 2025 — the financial case is better than ever. Find out more about the programme on the website National Fund for Environmental Protection.
Summary
- RCEm April 2026: 132.92 PLN/MWh — a record low for Polish net billing
- Negative prices during the May bank holiday: down to –1,457 zł/MWh, PSE has curtailed 3.5 GW of photovoltaic capacity
- Extent of losses: An 8 kWp system without a storage unit loses around 900 zł a month during the season
- Trend: 27 GW of PV in Poland and rising — every new GW exacerbates the problem
- Solution: energy storage + optimisation of household appliance and EV schedules
Free analysis of your system’s self-consumption — SolLab Gdańsk
We’ll show you how much you’re losing by selling at a low RCE and how an energy storage facility would make a difference. We operate in Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot, Pruszcz Gdański and throughout the Pomeranian region.
Book a free analysis → · +48 608 435 001 · biuro@sollab.pl
FAQ — Record-low RCEm 2026
What is RCEm and why is it important for photovoltaic system owners?
RCEm is the monthly market price of electricity at which prosumers in the net-billing system are billed for the energy fed into the grid. The lower the RCEm, the more slowly the prosumer deposit grows. In April 2026, it reached an all-time low of 132.92 zł/MWh — around 10 times less than the price of electricity purchased from the grid.
Why are energy prices in Poland sometimes negative?
Negative prices occur when energy production exceeds current demand. This happens most often on sunny weekends: solar power is generating at maximum capacity, industry is at a standstill, and conventional power stations cannot be shut down immediately. On 1 May 2026, prices fell to -1,457 zł/MWh (official PSE data) and PSE ordered a curtailment of 3.5 GW of solar power.
Will a negative energy price reduce my prosumer deposit?
No. Under the Renewable Energy Sources Act, a value of zero is used for settlement purposes when the RCE is negative. The deposit does not decrease, but neither does it increase. Energy fed into the grid during periods of negative prices has no financial value.
What can I do to avoid losing money due to a low RCE?
Three steps: (1) shifting the use of household appliances, electric vehicles and heat pumps to between 10.00 and 14.00 — free and immediate; (2) checking the inverter logs — to see what percentage of energy you are feeding back into the grid; (3) energy storage — increases self-consumption to 80–90%.
Will solar power without energy storage still be cost-effective in 2026?
For homes with high daytime consumption (home office, heat pump, domestic hot water) — yes. For homes that are empty during the day, where more than 40–50% of energy is fed into the grid — the economics deteriorate with every quarter. At an RCE of 0.13 zł/kWh, every kWh sold rather than consumed represents a real loss of around 1.10 zł.
When will the new energy storage grant scheme be launched?
The PME Programme, Part II (National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, budget of 1 billion PLN) is set to launch in September 2026. The maximum grant is 16,000 PLN for an energy storage system for prosumers on a net-billing scheme. Eligible costs from 1 November 2025 — purchasing a storage system today does not preclude eligibility for a grant.
