Accounting for energy cooperatives

Spe­cial­ist ac­count­ing ser­vices for or­gan­isa­tions op­er­at­ing at the in­ter­sec­tion of co­oper­at­ive law, energy law and ac­count­ing.

An energy co­oper­at­ive is a unique entity - it com­bines the ob­lig­a­tions typ­ical of a legal person (full ac­count­ing books, re­port­ing to the Na­tional Court Re­gister) with the spe­cif­ics of the re­new­able energy sector: re­cord­ing energy pro­duc­tion and con­sump­tion, set­tle­ments between mem­bers and the re­quire­ments of the KOWR re­gister. We specialise in serving this type of organisation and understand how ac­count­ing for an energy co­oper­at­ive dif­fers from ac­count­ing for a typ­ical com­pany.

What our service covers

  • Keep­ing full ac­count­ing books in line with the Ac­count­ing Act - as a legal person, an energy co­oper­at­ive cannot use sim­pli­fied ac­count­ing rules.
  • Cor­rect re­cord­ing of entry fees and mem­bers' shares (dis­tin­guish­ing cash con­tri­bu­tions from in-kind con­tri­bu­tions, e.g. PV in­stall­a­tions) and their proper post­ing to equity ac­counts.
  • Ac­count­ing for elec­tri­city pro­duced and con­sumed within the co­oper­at­ive, in­clud­ing re­cord­ing sur­pluses settled under net meter­ing and cor­rectly ex­clud­ing sur­plus energy from CIT tax­able rev­enue.
  • Doc­u­ment­a­tion and re­port­ing re­quired to enter and remain on the KOWR re­gister and for in­spec­tions by the Energy Reg­u­lat­ory Office (URE).
  • On­go­ing tax ser­vices: CIT, VAT, tax re­turns and set­tle­ments with co­oper­at­ive mem­bers.
  • Sup­port with ob­tain­ing and ac­count­ing for grants (e.g. the “En­er­gia dla Wsi” pro­gramme, KPO funds, RPO 2021-2027) - cov­er­ing the ac­count­ing and re­port­ing side of funded pro­jects.
  • Advice on set­ting up a co­oper­at­ive: choos­ing the legal form, the stat­utes and pre­par­ing doc­u­ments for KOWR and the KRS.
  • Fin­an­cial state­ments and work­ing with the stat­utory aud­itor if the co­oper­at­ive is sub­ject to an audit.
  • In­teg­ra­tion with ex­ternal soft­ware for set­tling energy pro­duced and con­sumed within the co­oper­at­ive.

Why entrust this to us

Energy co­oper­at­ives are still a new and rap­idly chan­ging area of law - the rules on self-suf­fi­ciency thresholds, dis­tri­bu­tion charges and set­tle­ment prin­ciples change from year to year. We work in enova365, follow changes in energy and co­oper­at­ive law, and act­ively sup­port co­oper­at­ive boards in making fin­an­cial de­cisions - from day-to-day ac­count­ing to ana­lys­ing the prof­it­ab­il­ity of re­new­able energy in­vest­ments.

Get in touch

Do you manage an energy co­oper­at­ive, plan to set one up or are you looking for an accounting firm that understands this sector? Let's talk.

Book a free con­sulta­tion +48 513 269 821

Frequently asked questions

Does an energy co­oper­at­ive have to keep full ac­count­ing books?+

Yes. An energy co­oper­at­ive is a legal person, so re­gard­less of its rev­enue it is re­quired to keep full ac­count­ing books in line with the Ac­count­ing Act - it cannot use sim­pli­fied re­cords or the KPiR ledger.

How should entry fees and mem­bers' shares be re­cor­ded cor­rectly?+

Entry fees and mem­bers' shares are re­cor­ded as cap­ital con­tri­bu­tions, not dir­ectly as op­er­at­ing costs. You also need to dis­tin­guish a cash con­tri­bu­tion from an in-kind con­tri­bu­tion (e.g. a con­trib­uted photo­vol­taic in­stall­a­tion), which af­fects how it is re­cor­ded in the books and how it is later re­flec­ted in the fin­an­cial state­ments.

How is sur­plus energy fed into the grid settled?+

Energy fed into the grid by the co­oper­at­ive is offset against energy drawn from it under a system sim­ilar to net meter­ing. Sur­plus energy settled in this way is not rev­enue within the mean­ing of the CIT Act, so it must be cor­rectly sep­ar­ated in the books from the co­oper­at­ive's other rev­enue.

What con­di­tions must a co­oper­at­ive meet to be entered on the KOWR re­gister?+

Among other things, the co­oper­at­ive must gen­er­ate energy from re­new­able sources with a total ca­pa­city not ex­ceed­ing 10 MW, cover the stat­utory share of its mem­bers' own demand and op­er­ate in an area of no more than a few mu­ni­cip­al­it­ies con­nec­ted to the same dis­tri­bu­tion net­work. Once the con­di­tions are met, it ap­plies for entry on the re­gister kept by the Dir­ector Gen­eral of KOWR.

Can an energy co­oper­at­ive apply for grants?+

Yes. Energy co­oper­at­ives can use, among others, the “En­er­gia dla Wsi” pro­gramme, funds from the Na­tional Re­cov­ery Plan (KPO) and the Re­gional Op­er­a­tional Pro­grammes 2021-2027. Ac­count­ing for such grants re­quires ap­pro­pri­ate pro­ject re­cords and com­pli­ance with the re­quire­ments of the pro­gramme.

How does ac­count­ing for an energy co­oper­at­ive differ from ac­count­ing for a lim­ited li­ab­il­ity com­pany?+

In ad­di­tion to stand­ard ac­count­ing ob­lig­a­tions, a co­oper­at­ive must keep sep­ar­ate energy re­cords - pro­duc­tion, own con­sump­tion and sur­pluses fed into the grid - as well as the doc­u­ment­a­tion re­quired by KOWR and URE. In­ternal set­tle­ments between mem­bers and spe­cific ex­emp­tions from dis­tri­bu­tion charges also re­quire know­ledge that goes beyond stand­ard ac­count­ing for lim­ited com­pan­ies.