# Dynamic electricity tariff Source: https://ordergroup.co/glossary/dynamic-tariff/ Last updated: 2026-10-10 > Dynamic electricity tariffs for energy software buyers: EU and Polish rules, 15-minute prices and what an EMS or billing system has to handle. [Energy](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/energy/) 3 min read # Dynamic electricity tariff Also known as: dynamic tariff, dynamic pricing contract, dynamic electricity price contract Definition A dynamic electricity tariff is a supply contract whose energy price follows the spot market, usually the day-ahead price for each hour or quarter-hour. EU law gives every customer with a smart meter the right to such a contract from at least one supplier. Cite this entry Text "Dynamic electricity tariff". Order Group, Software glossary, 10 October 2026. https://ordergroup.co/glossary/dynamic-tariff/ HTML `Dynamic electricity tariff - Order Group` Reviewed by [Karol Oponowicz](https://ordergroup.co/authors/karol-oponowicz/), Co-founder & Business Owner Last reviewed 10 October 2026 ## How a dynamic tariff works Directive (EU) 2019/944 defines a dynamic electricity price contract in Article 2(15): a supply contract between a supplier and a final customer that reflects price variation in the spot markets, including the day-ahead and intraday markets, at intervals at least equal to the market settlement frequency. Article 11 lets every final customer with a smart meter request such a contract from at least one supplier and from every supplier with more than 200,000 final customers. The supplier must obtain the customer's consent before switching them to it and must explain the opportunities, costs and risks of each type of contract. For at least ten years after these contracts become available, member states or their regulators have to monitor them and publish an annual report on market developments, the impact on bills and price volatility. Poland wrote these rules into the Energy Law (Prawo energetyczne, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 43). Article 3(6d) defines the contract as one that reflects price changes on the day-ahead and intraday markets at intervals at least equal to the imbalance settlement period set under Regulation 2017/2195. Under Article 5(4f) to (4h), a customer with a smart meter can buy electricity on a dynamic price contract, a supplier with at least 200,000 end customers must offer one, and the contract needs the customer's consent. Article 5(4i) requires the power exchange to publish day-ahead and intraday prices at the imbalance settlement interval, in PLN per MWh to the nearest 0.01 PLN, and to pass them to suppliers as soon as they are set. An amendment published on April 15, 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 516) rewrote Article 5(4g): a supplier of that size now has to offer both a dynamic price contract and a fixed-term contract with a guaranteed fixed price, for 12 months and for longer. Before signing, the supplier must tell the customer whether the price is fixed, variable or dynamic, and what the price or the algorithm that sets it is. In practice the price for each period is the exchange price for that period plus the supplier's margin and fees. Distribution charges are separate: the network operator still bills them under its own tariff, whatever the sales contract says. Fixed, time-of-use and dynamic sales prices compared Sales priceHow the energy price is setWhen the price is knownWhat the system needs FixedOne price for the contract termAt signingContract price and termTime-of-use (for example G12)Two or more zone prices by time of dayAt signingZone calendarDynamicExchange price per period plus the supplier's marginThe day before delivery, after the day-ahead auctionDaily price import for each quarter-hour and the supplier's formula ## What a dynamic tariff means for your software A dynamic tariff moves the price from a contract field to a daily data feed. An EMS, a billing system or a customer app that works with it needs: - A daily import of next-day prices in the resolution of the [day-ahead market](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/day-ahead-market/), which has priced every quarter-hour since October 1, 2025. - An explicit time zone on every import. A one-hour shift in a CSV file moves every price into the wrong period, and the optimizer then charges at the wrong time. - The supplier's formula. The customer's price is the exchange price plus margin, fees and taxes, and the sales tariff has to stay separate from the distribution tariff. - Tariffs with validity dates per site. Customers change contracts, so statistics and forecasts must be recalculated when the tariff changes, or reported savings will be wrong. - Savings calculated period by period: the energy shifted multiplied by the price difference in that period. A monthly average price hides most of the value. - Negative prices handled as normal data in control logic, reports and invoices. - A schedule ready before the delivery day starts, and a fallback for the day when the price feed is late. - Interval data from a [smart meter](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/smart-meter/), which the contract requires and which settlement uses. Writing the specification? Add Dynamic electricity tariff to your requirements checklist Collect the terms your project touches and get their system requirements in one e-mail, ready for an RFP. Data a dynamic tariff system works with DataTypical sourceResolution Day-ahead pricesPower exchange (TGE in Poland) or ENTSO-E15 minutes since October 1, 2025Supplier's price formulaSales contractPer contractDistribution ratesDistribution operator's tariffZones and rates per tariff yearConsumption and generationSmart meter, inverter or the site's own meter15 minutes or finer ## From our projects Since January 2024 we have built the [EMS](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/ems/) for [Zeronest](https://ordergroup.co/case-studies/zeronest-solar-panel-monitoring-app/). It optimizes against the customer's sales tariff, dynamic or time-of-use. In October 2025 we fixed a CSV tariff import whose timestamps ran one hour ahead, which had forced users to shift every price in the file by an hour. In January 2026 each installation got a sales tariff chosen separately from the distribution tariff, in the prosumer app, the installer app and the web panel, and the platform started recalculating price statistics and predictions after every tariff change. By July 2026 the web platform showed tariffs at 15-minute resolution. From our projects [Zeronest - Solar Panel Monitoring App with Automated Battery Management How Order Group built Zeronest's solar panel monitoring app: an EMS that charges, discharges or sells power based on live prices and weather.](https://ordergroup.co/case-studies/zeronest-solar-panel-monitoring-app/) Where to get it - [Zeronest](https://zeronest.pl/) Zeronest makes energy management hardware and software that control battery storage against energy prices and tariffs. We build its EMS platform. ## Related terms - [Day-ahead market](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/day-ahead-market/) The day-ahead market is a daily auction in which electricity for each 15-minute period of the next day is bought and sold. In Europe orders close at 12:00 CET and one algorithm sets prices for all coupled bidding zones. - [EMS](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/ems/) Energy management system An energy management system (EMS) is software that reads the meters, inverters and batteries on a site and sends them setpoints, deciding when to charge, discharge, curtail or trade within grid, contract and safety limits. - [Smart meter](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/smart-meter/) A smart meter is an electricity meter that communicates both ways with the network operator's remote reading system, recording interval data such as 15-minute load profiles and accepting commands such as a power limit or disconnection. ## Sources 1. [Directive (EU) 2019/944 on common rules for the internal market for electricity (consolidated), Articles 2(15) and 11](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02019L0944-20240716) - EUR-Lex 2. [Ustawa z dnia 10 kwietnia 1997 r. - Prawo energetyczne, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 43, art. 3 pkt 6d, art. 5 ust. 4f-4i i 6h](https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20260000043) - ISAP Sejm RP 3. [Ustawa z dnia 13 marca 2026 r. o zmianie ustawy - Prawo energetyczne oraz niektórych innych ustaw, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 516, art. 1 pkt 4](https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20260000516) - ISAP Sejm RP Karol Oponowicz reviewed this entry. Ask how it applies to your project. [Ask an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ## FAQ ![Karol Oponowicz](https://ordergroup.co/media/images/T02DHCC1Z-USU628BDK-ebc230ec112f-512.format-webp.webp) Karol Oponowicz Co-founder & Business Owner [Talk to an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ### Who can get a dynamic electricity tariff in Poland? Any end customer with a smart meter. A supplier with at least 200,000 end customers must offer a dynamic price contract, and since the 2026 amendment also a fixed-price contract for 12 months or longer. ### Does a dynamic tariff change distribution charges? No. It changes only the price of the energy. Distribution charges follow the network operator's tariff and are calculated as before. ### How often does the price change? Once per settlement period of the market it follows. On the day-ahead market that has meant a price for every quarter-hour since October 1, 2025, published the day before delivery. ### When does a dynamic tariff pay off for a business? When part of the consumption can move in time, through a battery, heat storage or flexible processes, and software moves it to cheap periods. A site with a rigid profile takes the price spikes without being able to use the cheap hours. Building a system that depends on Dynamic electricity tariff? See how we build software for this domain, with case studies and the stack we use. [See Energy Hub](https://ordergroup.co/energy-hub/) Requirements checklist For each term we send the definition and what it requires from your software. Free, no sales call needed. Your checklist is empty. Use the plus next to a term to add it.