The government is planning to do just that update of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). The draft of this strategic document assumes a drastic decrease in the share of coal in electricity production (from 60% in 2023 to 1% in 2040), a large increase in the share of renewable energy sources – RES (from 27% currently to 63%). in 2040), as well as the appearance of nuclear power plants, which will have a 19% share in 2040. share in Poland’s energy balance. But it’s not only about energy sources. Transmission and distribution networks are of strategic importance.
Before the electricity reaches the socket…
For the average citizen power system it’s a complicated matter. And it looks like this. Before the electricity reaches the sockets in our homes, it undergoes a long distribution process. The energy produced in power plants goes to transformer stations, where its voltage is increased in order to be transmitted over very long distances. The current is transmitted via the highest voltage lines (LV, in Poland 220 and 400 kV) to local transformer stations, where the voltage is reduced to 110 kV.
Then high voltage lines (110 kV) the energy is distributed to high and medium voltage stations, from where it goes to pole transformers via medium voltage lines (10, 15, 20 or 30 kV). And from there, electricity is directed to houses and apartments via low-voltage lines (400 and 230 V).
This whole thing system of energy sources, transmission lines and transformer stations it must be able to accept as much electricity from producers as it is currently consuming. Therefore, the power system must be able to change the directions and amounts of energy transmitted, and the more extensive the network is, the easier it is to maintain stability and reliability of supplies. And Poland is now faced with the task of building such an extensive and flexible web. Without it, building wind and water power plants, as well as nuclear power plants, investing in photovoltaic farms or other renewable energy sources would make no sense, because there would be no way to collect and send the energy generated there to places where it is needed. Without a modern transmission and distribution network, the energy transformation is doomed to failure. Especially since the essence of transformation is also flexible energy management.
They are responsible for managing the operation of the entire National Power System Polish Power Grids (PSE). They ensure the continuity of energy supplies and its universal availability. Other energy companies – PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, Tauron Polska Energia, Energa and Enea – produce energy and distribute it to individual consumers. Each company has its own investment program, which must be compatible with others.
A challenge like never before
Within a dozen or so years PSE they want to spend as much as PLN 66 billion on investments. By 2037, there will be over 7,000 people in Poland. km of highest voltage lines – 5,456 km of 400 kV line tracks and 1,615 km of HVDC lines (high voltage direct current). 31 new power stations will also be built, and 110 existing ones will be modernized. This is PSE’s largest investment program in history, thanks to which the Polish economy will undergo an energy transformation and our country will improve its security of electricity supplies.
Maciej WapińskiPSE spokesman, does not hide that the investment program for the coming years is a challenge that has never been seen before. It is not that there has been no investment in energy networks in Poland in recent years, but now the scale of these investments is incomparable to what we have dealt with so far, hence the need to meet great challenges. – emphasizes the PSE spokesman. He emphasizes that preparations for the investments and their implementation are on schedule and there are no major delays, although he admits that there are several problems.
The first one is money. Revenues from customer fees are only a drop in the ocean of investment needs, which is why PSE is counting on significant support from EU funds. We will also look for other sources of financing, such as bonds or loans, so as not to burden recipients with investment costs – says Maciej Wapiński.
Another problem is access to contractors. Only some of the works, e.g. foundations for poles, can be performed by traditional construction companies, but the installation of the poles themselves and even complex power equipment requires specialized preparation. There is a lack of such specialized companies. It is also difficult to buy specialized equipment, it is not possible to get them immediately and you have to wait for them, which lengthens the investment process.
It is also protracted due to the tedious and long-term preparations for the construction itself. Maciej Wapiński emphasizes that PSE uses the special act in exceptional cases and tries to designate the routes of transmission lines in consultation with local governments and residents.
Already at the stage of preliminary plans, we talk to the heads of municipalities, who, for example, advise us not to run the line through a given area because a housing estate is to be built there. Most often, our lines run through forests and fields. Even with farmers, we try not to enter into conflicts and if someone wants to move the pole by 3 m, we fulfill such demands. – says the PSE spokesman.
But it has been much more difficult, not so long ago PSE resigned from building the Kozienice-Ołtarzew transmission line. Reason? Residents’ protests. In most cases, however, we manage to reach an agreement and there is no blocking of investments – indicates the PSE spokesman.
Prosumers and renewable energy sources are joining the grid
In November ORLEN Group announced that it will spend PLN 3.5 billion on a strategic investment program in the field of energy distribution networks. Energa Operator, a company belonging to the group, will be responsible for new connections for renewable energy sources, modernization and investments in the smart grid, covering approximately one quarter of Poland. Financing – on preferential terms – will be provided by the European Investment Bank. Thanks to EIB funds, Energa Operator will be able to build and modernize nearly 3.5 thousand. km of the network, which will allow you to connect to the network: RES with a total capacity of approx. 1.2-1.4 GW, new customers – nearly 38 thousand. facilities, including new prosumers – 20-25 thousand customers. And this is only the first stage of this energy company’s great investment program.
We have a very special situation in our area of operation. Thanks to our geographical location and the fact that we have always supported changes in the energy market, the largest number of renewable energy sources are installed in our area – large-scale ones, and, taking into account the number of our customers, also prosumer micro-installations. It can be said that we have already achieved the goals of the energy transformation, because under favorable conditions in the power system, our customers can be powered by renewable energy – emphasizes Robert Świerzyńskipresident of Energa-Operator. And it reminds us that, looking from a different perspective, in the area where Energa-Operator operates, the supply of electricity is much greater than the demand.
Due to this imbalance, which translates into the country’s electricity system, we should redistribute generation installations by reducing their production or turning them off. To avoid this, we must use increasingly sophisticated network management devices and tools, and in the near future create new services on the market – such as flexibility services. We will also use these funds to connect and increase power to customers who are important players in achieving climate neutrality and are undergoing decarbonization processes, such as heating, cooling, data processing centers, public transport – explains President Świerzyński.
Flexibility in practice
At the end of October, TAURON Dystrybucja signed the first contract for the provision of flexibility services. It is intended to eliminate the effects of technical limitations in the 15 kV Łączany medium voltage line powered by the power station in Zator, Lesser Poland. In this line, there is an excessive voltage increase locally, caused by too high electricity generation in relation to the energy consumed from this line by consumers, and at the same time, the cross-section of the line wires is too small and its length is too high. The energy sources for the line are Łączany Hydroelectric Power Plantconnected at the end of the line and a significant and constantly growing number of photovoltaic installations.
Within a few years, Tauron Dystrybucja is to solve the problem by replacing the overhead line with a cable line. Currently, the contract assumes a reduction in the inductive reactive power fed into the network.
Flexibility services in Tauron Dystrybucji are aimed mainly at commercial customers who, without any loss to the technological process, can reduce energy consumption at certain times, eliminating excessive load on the network, or increase consumption if the network needs such. The situation is similar in the case of manufacturers. Customers can reduce or increase their energy consumption and get paid for it. As the company informed, the flexibility service will also be available to households connected at low voltage level. In such cases, aggregators will come to the rescue, i.e. entities that will combine dispersed resources and represent smaller clients in relations with network operators.
At the turn of October and November PGE Dystrybucja announced that its five branches: Białystok, Skarżysko-Kamienna, Łódź, Zamość and Warsaw, obtained funding for the implementation of a total of 37 tasks in the field of construction and modernization of a smart power grid. The company received support from the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment (FEnIKS) program in the total amount of over PLN 337 million.
The tasks included in the co-financing agreements signed today include 37 various investments related to the modernization of electricity distribution infrastructure. Reconstruction of the distribution network using the funds obtained will increase the possibility of connecting new renewable energy sources and improve the stability of energy supplies to consumers by reducing energy losses in power grids – said Jacek Drozd, president of PGE Dystrybucja.
Grzegorz Skowron (GEG Information Agency)
Read more in DGP add-on | Infrastructure investments
