We are starting to implement new EU energy regulations. Will the "Clean energy for all Europeans" package heal the Polish energy sector and give it an impulse for development? How can the energy consumer benefit from the changes? In Forum Energii's report "Small steps to big changes", we analyse the provisions of the Package and their consequences for Poland. 

When electricity was cut off for almost an hour in London on 9 August, a nervous wave swept through the media, whistling up blackout throughout Europe and blaming the unstability of renewables. It was worth holding off on a moment with such opinions, because the causes and sequence of events proved to be much more complicated. The British transmission system operator National Grid has published an initial report which shows that a conventional gas-fired power plant failed in parallel to the offshore farm. And it all started with.... lightning. 

In the latest report Locational market in Poland. Security of supply, costs and impact on the energy transition, Forum Energii recommends changes on the energy market in Poland. It is a response to the emerging problems of the Polish energy transformation - high prices, ageing infrastructure, dominant share of coal. As an example, it presents the functioning of the electricity markets in the United States.

The national energy and climate plans and their assessment (objectives, instruments, financing) by the European Commission are a major qualitative change in the process of developing and implementing the EU energy and climate policy. Until now, energy and climate targets have been scattered across many pieces of legislation and are now linked by the overarching objective of climate neutrality in 2050 resulting from the Paris Agreement.

Flexibility of the power system means its ability to maintain uninterrupted operation under conditions of rapid and huge fluctuations in electricity consumption generation. It is an inherent part of the system design and control of its operation. In the analysis, Forum Energii puts forward solutions supporting the improvement of  the national power system flexibility. In addition to reducing the costs of the power sector and the improvement in quality and reliability of the electricity supply, their objective is to reduce emissions by the power sector.

Probable delays of the nuclear energy project, insufficient attention to energy costs and the risk of non-compliance with EU climate and energy targets – these are some of the comments of Forum Energii on the draft Poland’s Energy Policy.

On November 15, 2018 PSE S.A. (state owned transmission system operator in Poland) held the first auction as part of the new scheme of remunerating capacity, that is a capacity market. The auction secured 22.7 GW for 2021 for a total amount of over 5 billion PLN (over 1,2 billion EUR). The cost of the capacity scheme appears significantly higher than the 4 billion the Ministry of Energy assumed for the year. 

Will photovoltaics save us from the blackout? Summer peaks still remain a challenge, although over three years have passed, since the crisis in 2015 where the industrial consumers were faced with limitations in electricity supply. In October, Minister of Energy admitted that 2 GW of PV could help Poland to avoid blackout in the future. It has been known for many years. Forum Energii presents its assessment of changes that have been introduced to the energy system to avoid similar situations in the future.

An integrated European electricity market will benefit consumers through lower prices, more cost-effective integration of renewable resources, and improved system reliability. A central question often asked in the context of the IEM is: can Poland rely on resources from neighbouring countries in a crisis situation? Is it safe to integrate market when national transmission system operators (TSOs) are responsible for managing energy systems in Europe.

The Polish energy mix is changing. While absolute figures still show a rather small share of variable renewables in the generation mix, these will play a growing role in the future. The study of Forum Energii presents eight main areas of action that facilitate the further integration of the renewables in the specific context of a changing Polish power system.