The capacity fee (opłata mocowa) is the network-bill component that funds the Polish capacity market — payments to power plants, storage and demand response for being available when the system needs capacity. The President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) sets the rates for each calendar year. Below are the rates valid from 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2026, exactly as published in URE Information No. 58/2025. The official rates are in PLN; euro figures are an indicative conversion at the ECB reference rate of 3 Nov 2026 (1 EUR = 4.419 PLN).
· Source: URE Information No. 58/2025 of 30 Oct 2025 and No. 57/2025. Rates net of VAT. EUR conversion at the ECB reference rate of 3 Nov 2026.
Household, flat rate, above 1,200 up to 2,800 kWh/year
PLN 17.18 / month
€3.89 / month
Household, flat rate, above 2,800 kWh/year
PLN 24.05 / month
€5.44 / month
Other end users (business, industry)
PLN 0.2194 / kWh in peak hours
€49.65 / MWh in peak hours
The rates apply from 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2026 and are net — VAT is added on the bill. The flat monthly rate is charged per metering point, which usually means per meter.
Who pays what
Households on the flat rate pay a fixed monthly amount that depends on their annual consumption band. The band, not the time of use, determines the charge.
All other end users, mainly businesses, pay per kilowatt-hour drawn in the designated hours. For 2026, URE Information No. 57/2025 sets them as the consecutive hours from 07:00 to 22:00 local time (CET/CEST, fifteen hours, the last starting at 21:00) on working days, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. Consumption outside those hours carries no capacity fee.
For a commercial or industrial site the fee works like a peak-hour adder of PLN 219.40/MWh on top of the energy price. That makes it a material input for load shifting, behind-the-meter storage and the business case of on-site generation in Poland.
How to reduce the capacity fee
Households can only reduce it through lower annual consumption — dropping below a band limit (2,800, 1,200 or 500 kWh) moves the meter to a lower monthly rate.
Businesses pay for energy drawn on working days between 07:00 and 22:00. Shifting load to night-time or weekends, a battery, or own generation during those hours reduces the charge base.
The rates change every year. The 2027 rates are already published in URE Information No. 51/2026 of 30 October 2026 (URE, opłata mocowa 2027): households stay at PLN 4.29 / 10.31 / 17.18 / 24.05 per month; other end users pay PLN 0.1925 / 0.2141 / 0.1984 / 0.1950 per kWh in Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4 2027 (net of VAT), on energy drawn on working days 07:00–22:00 (Information No. 50/2026). Always check the date of the information.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Polish capacity fee in 2026?
For households on the flat rate PLN 4.29, 10.31, 17.18 or 24.05 per month net, depending on annual consumption (below 500 kWh, 500–1,200 kWh, 1,200–2,800 kWh, above 2,800 kWh). Other end users pay PLN 0.2194/kWh net in the designated hours, about €49.65/MWh at the ECB rate of 3 Nov 2026.
In which hours do businesses pay the capacity fee in 2026?
On working days from 07:00 to 22:00 local time (fifteen consecutive hours), according to URE Information No. 57/2025.
Does the capacity fee include VAT?
No. The rates published by the URE President are net; VAT is added on the bill.
Who sets the capacity fee rates?
The President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) under the Capacity Market Act. For 2026 this was done by Information No. 58/2025 of 30 Oct 2025.
What does the capacity fee pay for?
The capacity market: payments to power plants, energy storage and demand-side response for being ready to deliver capacity to the system in periods of peak demand.
Energy market data for your business
We build tools on power market data — prices, peak-hour consumption, forecasts. If you want to know how much capacity fee your site pays and how to cut it by shifting load, write to us.