Poland’s private energy sector has launched a new platform for dialogue and lobbying – the Energy Dialogue Council (RDE). The initiative was triggered by the controversial 'grid act’ (UC84), which threatened to cancel connection conditions for projects under development. 'It lit a red light for all of us,’ said Piotr Wiśniewski, vice-president of the Polish Chamber of Renewable and Distributed Energy (PIGEOR), which chairs the council for the first six months.
The council brings together six industry organizations representing independent energy companies, a result of long‑standing discussions and earlier attempts at coordination. Wiśniewski recalled a previous effort – the Polish Coordination Council for RES (PRK OZE), set up in 2008. That initiative faded as some member organizations disappeared and the market changed. The new council is a natural evolution, but the immediate catalyst was the UC84 law, which rewrote rules for grid connection permits.
A red light that mobilized the industry
Wiśniewski explained that the UC84 act was extremely restrictive. It retroactively threatened to revoke connection conditions for projects already in the pipeline. 'A developer building apartments relies on land banks and zoning permits. The energy sector survives on connection conditions. The UC84 act risked taking away these conditions for projects under construction,’ he said. That sense of danger pushed the private energy organizations to the table. 'It lit a red light for all of us, that maybe now is the time to talk, to create a joint representation so our voice – the voice of independent energy organizations – would be stronger and better heard,’ Wiśniewski added.
Goals of the Energy Dialogue Council
According to Wiśniewski, the RDE is not merely a lobbying platform but primarily an expert forum. 'Our ambition is to participate in shaping Poland’s energy policy, not just to comment on it,’ he said. The council aims to proactively identify barriers, propose legal changes, and share the practical knowledge of its members. Among priority issues, Wiśniewski pointed to the high cost of energy, which he called 'practically the only main problem of the Polish economy.’ He suggested completing the unbundling process – separating distribution from other activities within energy groups. 'This would give at least more transparent distribution costs, and probably lower prices. Energy will always be a regulated sector, but the rules must ensure fair competition among technologies and market participants,’ he argued.
A vision for Poland’s energy transition
Wiśniewski also discussed the future energy mix. While he acknowledged some rationale for nuclear power as a baseload stabilizer, he stressed its high cost. He proposed biogas and biomethane as viable alternatives to coal. 'Years ago, together with the late Professor Jan Popczyk, we wrote a program '2000 biogas plants in Poland’. Today I confirm that 2000 biogas plants is possible, and that would be equivalent to one third of all former Russian gas imports to Poland,’ he said. He emphasized that injecting biomethane into the grid offers the cheapest form of energy storage and allows heat and electricity to be used where they are needed, unlike standalone biogas plants in the middle of fields. On offshore wind, he noted that the latest onshore turbines have a capacity factor close to that of offshore units but at lower cost, calling for more transparency in the costs and expected returns of state‑backed energy projects.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Materiały prasowe PIGEOR/PGE
