Poland’s power grid operator PSE has introduced a rare emergency mechanism, the power market call, for several hours on Tuesday due to insufficient reserve capacity. The move, effective from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., marks only the third such occurrence in the history of the Polish capacity market.
The heatwave that has been gripping Poland finally hit the national power system, albeit with a delay. On 30 June 2026, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE) announced a so-called 'call period’ on the capacity market, ordering all contracted units to deliver electricity regardless of conditions or costs.
„Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A. declare call periods on the capacity market on 30.06.2026 from 18:00–19:00, 19:00–20:00, 20:00–21:00” – PSE said in a statement. Later, after 1 p.m., the operator extended the period to include 21:00–22:00.
Why the mechanism was triggered
Maciej Wapiński, PSE spokesman, explained that several factors coincided. „According to forecasts, the power reserve was insufficient. This is due to system load, higher demand caused by the heatwave, outages in conventional units, and lower-than-expected wind generation,” he said.
A few units at the Kozienice power plant (older 200 MW blocks) were down, and the largest block at the Turów power plant (444 MW) was also out of service. Additionally, low renewable generation in neighbouring countries made imports expensive and scarce – the average market clearing price during the call period exceeded 2,000 PLN/MWh.
Obligations and consequences
A call period signals to capacity market units that they must be ready and fulfil their capacity obligations. They have to supply electricity regardless of the situation or costs – after all, they are remunerated from capacity market funds. Failure to comply carries penalties.
Generation units must deliver the required power level, while Demand Side Response (DSR) units are obliged to reduce their electricity consumption. The operator resorted to this mechanism after observing a lack of sufficient reserve – on 30 June, the shortfall ranged from 400 to 800 MW during the call hours.
This is the third time in history that PSE has announced a call period on the capacity market. The first was on 23 September 2022, when the mechanism was still called an „emergency period on the capacity market” (the legislator later dropped that name). The second occurred on 6 November 2024. In both cases, the periods lasted a few hours.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne
