Over 10.000 Czech solar owners have not arranged imbalance responsibility, face fines

More than 10.000 owners of solar power plants still have not arranged imbalance responsibility for their installations. From July, they face fines for unauthorised deliveries to the grid, which could amount to hundreds of crowns a month. Many are unlikely to get this arranged in time, as distributors say the entire process can take several weeks. This is based on information provided to the Czech News Agency (ČTK) by distributors.

Most photovoltaic installations registered by the end of last year have a single combined EAN code, assigned free of charge by the distributor. This is a unique 18-digit code used to identify a point of consumption. However, from 1 July, solar installations must have two EAN codes under the legislation: one for consumption and one for generation. For the generation code, owners are also required to agree with a selected energy trader that it will assume responsibility for the so-called imbalance—the difference between planned and actual generation, for which a charge applies. Without this, electricity cannot be sold or shared. The measure also applies to operators who are not contractually permitted to feed surplus electricity into the grid.

ČEZ initially had 67.000 customers on record who are affected by the new obligation. At the beginning of this week, around 5200 remained. “We began actively contacting customers affected by the obligation last autumn and reached out to them repeatedly,” ČEZ spokesperson Alice Horáková said. The deadline for getting everything arranged is approaching. “In recent weeks, we have warned that we cannot guarantee applications received after 6 June will be processed by 1 July 2025. The administrative process can take several weeks,” she stressed.

E.ON is also advising its customers to arrange imbalance responsibility as soon as possible. The company initially had 13.000 customers affected by the new obligation. Despite actively contacting them, roughly half still have not arranged imbalance responsibility. “It will still be possible to resolve the situation after 1 July, but we recommend not leaving it until the last minute. If someone does not have a contract in place in time, they may continue generating electricity and sending it to the grid but receive no payment for it, and may also be charged compensation for unauthorised delivery from 1 August 2025,” E.ON spokesperson Lubomír Budný explained.

Prague Energy (PRE) also has around 1000 customers on record who have not yet arranged imbalance responsibility. “We are making intensive efforts to contact them through various channels: by letter, email and text message, and in recent days also by phone. The latest date for signing a new contract or addendum is around 10 June, so that all related administrative steps can then be completed on time,” PRE spokesperson Karel Hanzelka said.

Photovoltaic installations connected from the beginning of this year must also have an energy trader responsible for imbalance linked to their generation EAN number. The relevant distributor should inform them of the deadline.