A June 2026 auction for cogeneration premiums saw winning bids from PGE and Tauron, backing specific investment projects in Jaworzno, Kraków and Wrocław. At the same time, a parallel mechanism – the individual cogeneration premium – has not been awarded since 2021, leaving nearly 15 billion zlotys untapped. The Polish District Heating Association (PTEC) is now calling for those funds to be redirected into the auction system.
The auction, conducted by the Energy Regulatory Office (URE), awarded about 1.87 billion zlotys in support for 8.8 TWh of electricity sold between 2029 and 2044. The premiums – between 210 and 220 zlotys per MWh – are meant to boost high-efficiency cogeneration. Winning bidders included PGE Energia Ciepła, Zespół Elektrociepłowni Wrocławskich Kogeneracja (both part of the PGE group) and Tauron Wytwarzanie (part of Tauron).
Tauron’s Jaworzno project – a gas-engine cogeneration unit with electrode boilers, a heat accumulator and gas/oil boilers – secured about 337 million zlotys in support over 15 years. “The success in the cogeneration auction for the new heat source in Jaworzno is an important step for the company and our customers. It confirms competitiveness and provides a stable basis for implementation,” said Paweł Micuła, president of Tauron Wytwarzanie.
PGE’s two winning projects – a new 49.9 MW gas cogeneration unit in Kraków and a 49.9 MWe / 50 MWt gas cogeneration unit in Wrocław – each received roughly 744 million and 787 million zlotys respectively over the same period. Both are now in the preparation phase for construction.
Auction mechanism drives new investments
According to the PTEC report “The role of cogeneration and Power to Heat units in balancing the National Power System and heat production” (June 2026), the auction-based cogeneration premium is the most important operational support tool for high-efficiency cogeneration. In 2025, 17 projects received support and nearly 100% of the auction budget was used. In 2026, the first two auctions awarded premiums to 20 and 22 units respectively.
The structure of Poland’s professional cogeneration fleet in 2024 stood at around 10 GWe, of which 7.7 GWe comes from combined heat and power plants. The fuel mix in these plants was dominated by coal (4.9 GWe), followed by gas (2.6 GWe) and other fuels including biomass (0.2 GWe).
Individual premium: a dormant tool
Despite the auction’s success, the individual cogeneration premium – intended for smaller or specific projects – has not been awarded since 2021. No tender for individual premiums has been settled in the past five years. PTEC points out that roughly 15 billion zlotys allocated for this scheme remains unused. “Given the lack of producer interest in the individual cogeneration premium tenders, which is reflected in the fact that the last tender was settled in 2021, and assuming this situation will continue in 2026, the pool of funds that will remain unused under the CHP tender (about 15 billion zlotys) should be redirected to the auction support system,” the association stated in its report.
The industry argues that moving these funds into the auction mechanism would accelerate investments in cleaner, more efficient district heating. With coal still providing nearly half of cogeneration capacity, there is a clear need to shift toward gas and renewables. The auction system has proven its popularity and effectiveness, while the individual premium has become a dead letter.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Materiały prasowe / PGE
