Poland’s power market is on the brink of a major change as the Warsaw-based Towarowa Giełda Energii (TGE) moves closer to launching a flexibility services platform. The exchange has signed cooperation agreements with four distribution system operators (DSOs) and the transmission system operator, and expects to conduct tests by the end of 2026. The goal is to create a single national market for flexibility services, enabling DSOs to buy capacity from generators, storage owners, and consumers to manage local grid constraints.
On 15 July 2026, TGE signed agreements with Enea Operator, Energa-Operator, and PGE Dystrybucja, joining an earlier deal with Tauron Dystrybucja and Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE) from January 2026. These five operators now cover virtually all of Poland’s distribution and transmission networks. The platform will allow DSOs to purchase flexibility services on a transparent, competitive market, replacing ad-hoc bilateral arrangements.
Mariusz Buraczyński, vice-president of TGE, explained that the work on defining products is advancing but still depends on regulatory decisions. – We are defining products that may appear on this platform. It is heavily dependent on regulations we are waiting for. Nevertheless, we believe in the long-term potential of our actions – he said.
What products will be traded?
The exact set of products will be shaped by the amended ministerial regulation on the functioning of the electricity system. The draft defines flexibility services as a change in active power consumption or injection in the distribution network, excluding the 110 kV network coordinated by PSE. Products will be location-specific, designed to address local congestion and voltage issues.
– We know that the products appearing on the flexibility services platform will definitely be location-based, dedicated to distribution system operators, so that they fit their needs – said Mariusz Buraczyński. He added that current needs can be described as modifying the electricity demand profile at a given moment to match the requirements of the distribution system.
How will the platform work?
Offers of flexibility services will be comparable, and the entire process – from submission to activation and settlement – is designed to be transparent and simple. The platform will support management of local network constraints, especially in areas where they occur periodically. Buyers will be the DSOs, while sellers will be market participants: end users, generators, storage owners, and aggregators.
Robert Świerzyński, president of Energa-Operator, described the idea during a press conference. – On the created flexibility services platform, the offerors will be energy market participants, and the buyers will be DSOs. DSOs will use these services primarily to manage network constraints, overloads, and voltage issues – he said. He also pointed to the challenge of creating a model where DSOs can use flexibility services to stabilise renewable generation, especially with battery storage connected to medium-voltage networks.
Products may be offered as forward contracts with periods matching DSO expectations, but actual activation would take place on the spot market, by analogy to the electricity market. – I think we are able to conduct tests of the flexibility platform by the end of the year and determine which products may be attractive for DSOs. We assume we will be able to test this in a pilot – said Mariusz Buraczyński. He noted that at least initially, the platform should not list all possible products, only those most attractive for DSOs and feasible for offerors.
Testing and future prospects
The past months have been filled with analyses and workshops building the platform concept. TGE believes the pilot will confirm the commercial viability of flexibility services. – For several years we have been talking about flexibility services, and now they are crystallising. We are increasingly ready to say exactly what it might be – concluded Mariusz Buraczyński.
The success of the platform will also depend on the regulatory environment, particularly the final shape of the amended system regulation. Operators hope that the pilot will start by the end of 2026 and that the commercial launch will follow soon after, giving Poland a modern, market-based tool for grid management in the era of growing renewable energy and distributed generation.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Towarowa Giełda Energii
