Net-billing vs net-metering: differences and settlement in 2026
Everyone who connected panels from 1 April 2022 is settled under net-billing. Here is how every zloty is counted.
Net-billing is the system for settling prosumers that replaced the old offset scheme, net-metering, on 1 April 2022. Energy exported to the grid is no longer taken back in kilowatt-hours but sold: every hour the grid operator measures how much you exported and imported, and values the surplus at the PSE market price. Those who started exporting from 1 July 2024 get the hourly RCE price, earlier prosumers the monthly RCEm price. The value of that energy, multiplied by 1.23, goes into the prosumer account as a deposit valid for 12 months. The deposit only pays the energy part of later bills, never distribution or fixed charges. What you do not use comes back as cash up to 30% (RCE) or 20% (RCEm) of the value of exported energy, and the rest is lost. For 6 kWp in Warsaw with 4,000 kWh of use, the deposit is about PLN 1,569 a year. Settlement lasts 15 years from the micro-installation’s connection.
How much deposit will your surplus earn?
Yearly deposit (RCE)
PLN 1,189
| Yearly deposit (RCEm) | PLN 1,155 |
| 12-month average RCEm | 313 zł/MWh |
| Price window | 2025-10 – 2026-09 |
Simple average; summer surplus is worth less than the average. An estimate.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Net-billing vs net-metering: the differences in one table
| Net-metering (offsets) | Net-billing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it covers | micro-installations connected by 31 Mar 2022 | micro-installations connected from 1 Apr 2022 |
| What happens to the surplus | you take back 0.8 kWh (up to 10 kW) or 0.7 kWh (10–50 kW) for each one exported | it is sold at RCE or RCEm |
| What the surplus pays for | energy and distribution of the amount taken back | only the energy part of the bill, from the deposit ×1.23 |
| Unused surplus | lost after 12 months | refunded up to 20% (RCEm) or 30% (RCE) of its value |
| Duration | 15 years from connection | 15 years from the first export |
The key difference is the value of a kilowatt-hour exported to the grid. Under net-metering almost all of it came back, distribution included, so it paid to size the system to cover the whole year’s use. Under net-billing the surplus is worth what the market pays in the hour of export, and distribution on imported energy is always charged. That is why self-consumption now matters more than raw output.
The three energy flows in net-billing
The first is self-consumption: solar energy used in the same hour it is produced. It does not pass through the operator’s meter, so you pay nothing for it, neither for energy nor for distribution. It is the most valuable part of the output, worth about PLN 1.09 per kWh on the 2026 G11 tariff.
The second is export to the grid. The law requires import and export to be netted in each hour separately: if at 1 p.m. you exported 3 kWh and imported 0.5 kWh, a surplus of 2.5 kWh is settled. Its value is the amount of energy times the PSE price, and that value multiplied by 1.23 goes into the prosumer account. The 1.23 factor has applied since 1 July 2024.
The third is import from the grid in the evening, at night and in winter. You pay the normal tariff price for imported energy, but the seller covers the energy part of the bill from the deposit until it runs out. Distribution is always paid on all energy imported from the grid.
A year on net-billing: 6 kWp in Warsaw
The table shows how the year works out for a house using 4,000 kWh, with use spread evenly round the clock and settlement at RCE. In summer the deposit grows; in winter it is spent.
| Month | Output | Exported | Imported | Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 187 kWh | 88 kWh | 240 kWh | PLN 59 |
| February | 294 kWh | 185 kWh | 201 kWh | PLN 76 |
| March | 538 kWh | 391 kWh | 192 kWh | PLN 94 |
| April | 717 kWh | 557 kWh | 168 kWh | PLN 130 |
| May | 796 kWh | 618 kWh | 161 kWh | PLN 179 |
| June | 817 kWh | 638 kWh | 150 kWh | PLN 215 |
| July | 797 kWh | 616 kWh | 158 kWh | PLN 200 |
| August | 756 kWh | 583 kWh | 167 kWh | PLN 213 |
| September | 623 kWh | 475 kWh | 181 kWh | PLN 202 |
| October | 431 kWh | 297 kWh | 206 kWh | PLN 121 |
| November | 196 kWh | 96 kWh | 229 kWh | PLN 45 |
| December | 147 kWh | 59 kWh | 251 kWh | PLN 34 |
In total the house exports 4,603 kWh, giving a deposit of PLN 1,569. It spends PLN 1,408 of it on imported energy, and PLN 162 comes back as a refund. Settled at RCEm, the same house would save PLN 3,346 instead of PLN 3,425 a year.
Overpayment refunds: what comes back as cash
A deposit left unused for 12 months is not lost in full. The seller refunds it to your bank account, but with a cap: 20% of the value of energy exported in that month at RCEm and 30% at RCE. The cap is computed on the value without the 1.23 factor. The mini-calculator below shows how much comes back for a given deposit.
How much unused deposit comes back as cash?
Refund on RCE (up to 30%)
PLN 73
| Refund on RCEm (up to 20%) | PLN 49 |
| Unused | PLN 150 |
| Forfeited (RCE) | PLN 77 |
Cap computed on the value of energy exported that month, without the 1.23 factor (our reading of Art. 4(11a)).
RCE or RCEm: which price pays more
RCEm is the average price weighted by the energy all prosumers exported in a given month. Because most prosumers export at midday, RCEm is lower than the average wholesale price. RCE is the price of each hour, and when the market price drops below zero, zero is used for settlement. The RCE and RCEm page shows both prices and their history.
Settlement at RCE gives more when you export outside the production peak: in the morning, late afternoon or from a battery. It also has a higher refund cap. For a typical house without a battery the difference is small, but it rarely goes against RCE.
How to earn more from net-billing
The simplest way is to move use to production hours: washing machine, dishwasher, water heating and car charging at midday. Each kilowatt-hour used on the spot is worth several times more than one exported. The second is a home battery, with a grant from the Przydomowe Magazyny Energii programme. The third is avoiding oversizing: a bigger system mainly increases the deposit, which may be lost. The prosumer deposit calculator works out how much deposit your house will use.