Rising energy prices are prompting businesses to scrutinise their electricity bills more closely. However, attention usually focuses on the total amount of the bill, whilst the breakdown may contain additional charges that can be avoided. One significant item is the charge for reactive power capacity, the cost of which has begun to rise rapidly in recent years and is placing an increasingly heavy burden on companies’ budgets. Meanwhile, as the experts at SPIE Building Solutions emphasise, there are solutions available that can significantly reduce these costs and, in some cases, eliminate them almost entirely, often with a payback period measured in months rather than years.
The problem currently affects not only large industrial plants, but also offices, shops, warehouses and service premises. In many cases, companies are not even aware that they regularly incur costs related to reactive power, as these items remain hidden in the more detailed section of the bill.
– Between 2024 and 2026, charges for capacitive reactive power increased several-fold, which is directly reflected in customers’ bills and shifts the scale of the problem from a technical one to a business one. For many companies, this means a noticeable increase in monthly energy costs – says Grzegorz Pióro, Technical Development Manager at SPIE Building Solutions.
Just a few years ago, the problem was limited in scope and was mainly associated with large industrial installations. The situation is now different, as the way energy is consumed in businesses has changed. An increasing number of devices utilise modern electronics, which affect the parameters of the electricity grid and may result in additional charges being levied.
Energy savings do not always mean lower bills
Reactive power is a component of electrical power that is not directly converted into useful work, but is associated with the operation of magnetic or electric fields in equipment. When its level is too high, it places an additional load on the grid, increases losses and limits the transmission capacity of the energy infrastructure. For this reason, distribution system operators charge fees for excessive consumption or injection of reactive power, thereby offsetting the costs of maintaining the appropriate parameters and operational stability of the grid.
The rise in charges for capacitive reactive power is driven by the development of technologies found in virtually every business. LED lighting, air-conditioning systems, computer power supplies, server rooms, refrigeration systems and electric vehicle chargers improve energy efficiency, but at the same time alter the nature of the energy consumed.
As a result, businesses that have replaced older equipment with modern power electronics solutions may notice new cost items on their bills. The problem is that many property managers and business owners do not analyse their invoices in detail, meaning that these additional charges go unnoticed for a long time.
– It is becoming increasingly common for companies to focus on replacing lighting or modernising air-conditioning systems to save energy, whilst failing to monitor the side effects of these changes in the form of rising reactive power charges. Meanwhile, these costs can significantly reduce the real benefits derived from infrastructure modernisation – emphasises an expert from SPIE Building Solutions.
Compensation as a quick way to make savings
Reactive power compensation systems can help solve this problem by stabilising the parameters of the electrical installation and reducing additional charges – even in small premises, such as individual retail outlets, these charges can amount to several hundred zlotys a month. Modern compensation systems operate automatically and adapt in real time to the current load on the premises, thereby effectively reducing energy costs. An analysis of the electrical installation allows us to identify sources of reactive power and assess whether the use of compensation would be justified.
In many cases, the implementation of a suitably selected compensation system makes it possible to eliminate most, and sometimes even all, additional charges, whilst retaining the benefits of using modern, energy-efficient equipment.
The payback period depends on the nature of the facility and the scale of the changes, but is often relatively short. After this period, the reduction in expenditure translates into direct savings, which can lower annual running costs. An additional benefit is improved stability of the electrical installation and a reduced risk of faults resulting from overloading or deteriorating power quality.
A typical example is a commercial building or shop where reactive power charges have arisen following the modernisation of LED lighting, the installation of modern HVAC systems or infrastructure for charging electric vehicles. Once a suitably selected compensation system has been implemented, these costs can often be significantly reduced or eliminated entirely, meaning that the expected savings from the modernisation actually become a reality.
– The rise in reactive power charges has significantly improved the cost-effectiveness of such investments. Just a few years ago, compensation systems were mainly implemented in large industrial plants, whereas nowadays we often install them in smaller facilities as well. Thanks to our experience, we are able to select the right solution based on actual operational data, identified sources of reactive power and the characteristics of the facility – says Grzegorz Pióro.
For many businesses, carefully checking energy bills and identifying charges related to capacitive reactive power should be the first step towards quickly reducing energy expenditure. If such costs occur regularly, it is worth carrying out an analysis of the electrical installation and considering the implementation of appropriate compensation solutions.
