Poland Faces Power Shortages and Blackouts

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Poland could face a series of damaging power shortages and blackouts heading into winter, unless urgent measures are put in place to increase the country's reserve electricity capacity.

The warning was issued by the country's Economic Society of Polish Power Plants, whose members are responsible for generating most of Poland's electricity. Last month, Poland's electricity system was crippled by a long heat wave, which reduced supply and caused occasional blackouts that impacted both domestic and industrial supply. Manufacturing output from the automotive, steel and chemical sectors fell during the period. The heat wave boosted the demand for air conditioning, but also reduced the supply of natural water needed to cool the power stations, which in turn reduced electricity production. The restrictions imposed were the most severe since the 1980s, when Poland was transitioning from a communist country.

In a joint letter sent to the government, the group, which includes major power utilities such as Tauron Polska Energia S.A. (Katowice, Poland), Enea S.A. (WSE:ENA) (Poznan, Poland) and Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PW:PGE) (Warsaw, Poland), called on the government to take urgent action. The group called for measures to speed up the completion of existing power projects, support for the overhaul of older and unreliable conventional power plants; the overhaul of the ageing transmission grid to allow for the inclusion of more renewable energy sources; and the creation of more links to neighboring countries for importing power in emergencies.

"The current situation needs to be changed," said a statement from the Economic Society of Polish Power Plants. "We call on the relevant state institutions and the government administration to take effective measures to improve the energy security situation, based on national productive resources and an increase in the reliability of supply. In August over several weeks, high-pressure, scorching weather and the lack of rain caused a significant increase in demand for electricity. Extreme weather conditions limited working conditions of conventional power plants, especially those working with open cooling systems of power equipment."

Separately, Poland's grid operator warned that power shortages could become more common over the next three years until new power plants under construction are commissioned.

Many energy companies want the government to create a capacity reserve market, like that in the U.K., whereby utilities are paid a fee separate from normal electricity production to keep certain plants online for the purpose of providing power in emergencies.

Poland relies on coal for about 85% of its electricity, but most of the plants are old and inefficient, while the government is under pressure from the European Union (EU) to lower its emissions and clean up its energy mix. In May, the government said it will not build any more coal-fired power plants, while committing to investing in making existing plants more efficient. For additional information, see May 20, 2015, article - Poland: No New Coal-Fired Power Plants.

Last year, the country revealed its draft energy plan to 2050, in which nuclear power and renewables will play a major role in the future. State-owned PGE plans to build a nuclear portfolio with an estimated capacity of about 6,000 megawatts (MW) through two plants, each with a capacity of 3,000 MW. For additional information, see September 1, 2014, article - Poland To Reduce Coal in Power Mix.

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