The Polish private energy sector has formed a new coalition. Six industry organizations have established the Energy Dialogue Council (RDE) to jointly influence the country’s energy policy. The trigger was the so-called grid act, which threatened to revoke grid connection conditions for projects under construction.
Piotr Wiśniewski, vice-president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Renewable and Distributed Energy (PIGEOR), which will chair the RDE for the first six months, explained the origins of the initiative. – The concept of establishing the Energy Dialogue Council had been maturing for some time within the community of industry energy organizations. In a sense, it is a continuation of the concept of the Polish Renewable Energy Coordination Council (PRK OZE) established in 2008 by industry organizations operating in the renewable energy generation market – he said.
A wake-up call from the grid act
The immediate catalyst for the formation of the RDE was the UC84 bill, known as the grid act. In its original form, it fundamentally changed the mechanisms for obtaining grid connection conditions. – It could have even contributed to the bankruptcy of many companies because it worked retroactively, taking away connection conditions. Developers building housing rely on a land bank with zoning permits. The energy sector relies on grid connection conditions. The UC84 act threatened companies with the loss of connection conditions for projects under implementation – said Wiśniewski.
At that point, as he described, a red light came on for all private energy industry organizations. – Maybe this is the moment to talk and create a common representation so that our voice, that of industry organizations representing independent entities, is stronger and better heard. And that is how the RDE was born – he added.
Beyond lobbying: participating in policy-making
The RDE is intended to be more than just a lobbying platform. – Our ambition as the Energy Dialogue Council is to participate in the creation of Poland’s energy policy, not just comment on it – stressed Wiśniewski. The council aims to proactively identify development barriers and propose concrete solutions, including legal ones. – We are assuming creative actions, sharing the knowledge we have as entrepreneurs – he explained.
Among the key issues Wiśniewski highlighted are energy prices, which he described as the main problem of the Polish economy. – We need to work on mechanisms to reduce energy costs. In this area, we should consider completing unbundling, separating the distribution segment from other activities and spinning it off from energy groups. This would give at least more transparent distribution costs and probably lower prices – he argued.
He also called for fair technology competition. – Energy will always be a regulated sector. No sensible person calls for complete deregulation, but rules must be created that ensure fair competition of technologies and market participants – he said. As an example, he pointed to offshore and onshore wind: the newest land-based turbines have capacity factors close to offshore ones, but at lower production costs.
Wiśniewski also advocated for biogas and biomethane as an alternative to coal. – A few years ago together with the late Prof. Jan Popczyk we wrote a program „2000 biogas plants in Poland” and today I confirm that 2,000 biogas plants in Poland is possible, and that is the equivalent of 1/3 of the entire former gas import from Russia – he concluded.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. PIGEOR/PGE
