Poland’s power industry has moved past the era of strategy papers. Energy Days 2026 opened on 30 September in Katowice, gathering the energy ministry, state-owned utilities, grid operators, industry, investors and technology companies for two days built around decisions and investment rather than declarations.
The conference runs on 30 September and 1 October at the International Congress Centre in Katowice. Its agenda maps the pressure points of the Polish system: grids, local content, industry, renewables, nuclear, offshore, energy storage, district heating and artificial intelligence. The first day closes at 19:00 with the Energy Days Awards gala, where two distinctions will be presented – Nowy Impuls and Człowiek z energią.
From plans to construction sites
Grid operators need investment counted in tens of billions of zlotys. New gas-fired capacity is being built, renewables and storage are expanding, the first turbines in the Baltic are already sending electricity ashore, and the country’s first nuclear power plant is approaching further key decisions.
The system must also survive a period in which ageing units are retired while their replacements do not always arrive at the same moment. The cost of electricity remains one of the biggest obstacles to the competitiveness of Polish and European manufacturing.
Minister of Energy Miłosz Motyka opened the event at a time when his ministry is entering what it calls the closing stage of initiatives launched over the previous 12 months, with decisions expected on nuclear power and future capacity among other files.
– The ministry of energy is now entering the stage of finalising most of the initiatives taken in the past 12 months – said Minister of Energy Miłosz Motyka.
– Energy security is today one of the foundations of state security – said the head of the ministry.
– The power sector is part of critical infrastructure and requires the same serious approach to protection as other strategic areas of security – he added.
The opening session, titled Energy, security, competitiveness, brings Borys Budka, Grzegorz Kinelski, Grzegorz Lot, Marcin Laskowski, Grzegorz Onichimowski, Olga Sypuła and Jarosław Wajer to the stage. Their debate covers the system’s readiness for further electrification of the economy, the scale of investment required, the availability of new capacity, the cost of the transition and the conditions Poland must create to attract private capital.
Grids under pressure, industry under threat
A growing share of weather-dependent generation raises the demands placed on networks, dispatchable sources and balancing mechanisms. One panel is devoted to a system under pressure: connection constraints, the capacity market, new gas blocks, offshore and grid investment.
Competitiveness of industry is the second heavyweight topic. High energy prices, ETS, CBAM, power purchase agreements, companies’ own renewables and storage have stopped being side issues for manufacturers and increasingly shape production economics and new investment. One session asks directly whether energy for industry means competitiveness or deindustrialisation.
Local content gets substantial room as well. Poland is entering the largest wave of energy investment in decades, and the question of how much of that money stays in the domestic economy is growing louder. In Katowice the discussion covers state strategy along with practical matters: supplier qualification, contracting, certification and the entry of Polish firms into supply chains for nuclear, offshore, grids and storage.
That practical dimension also drives Suppliers’ Day, with meetings on the investment plans and procurement processes of Tauron and PGE, addressed directly to potential contractors and suppliers.
The 2035 mix, SMRs and data centres
The second day shifts the perspective towards the next decade. One of the main debates examines Poland’s energy mix in 2035: the role of coal and gas, the growth of nuclear and offshore, and how to combine security with competitive prices as demand rises.
A separate session is dedicated to nuclear energy, from a large power plant to small modular reactors. The discussion covers schedules, financing, the readiness of technology and of domestic industry. The second offshore phase is an occasion to talk about new capacity as well as ports, logistics and the Polish supply chain.
Data centres and AI infrastructure feature prominently in the agenda. New facilities may require hundreds of megawatts, which raises questions about grid connections, power sources, demand flexibility and the effect of such projects on the entire system. Artificial intelligence appears on the other side of the equation too, as a tool used by the energy sector itself for grid and asset management, data analysis, planning and customer service.
– We create Energy Days as a place where the energy transition is discussed chiefly through concrete decisions, investments and technologies – said Aleksandra Helbin, editor-in-chief of WNP.
Delivery, rather than another round of declarations, is meant to be the common denominator of the two days in Katowice.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. PTWP
